Archbishop William Goh The Shepherd's Voice: Recent Episodes
CatholicSG Radio
Featuring homilies and talks from the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore, Archbishop William Goh. This podcast may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission from the Archbishop’s Communications Office. This includes extracts, quotations or summaries.
Listening to the Word of God, Christ our light will enlighten us in the truth about life, about ourselves and about God. Walking in the way of our Lord, who is the Way, the Truth and the Life, we will find life to the fullest, on earth and in heaven. If Christ is the light and the Way, as Christians, we do not seek any other way, certainly not the ways of the World to find true happiness.
The rejection and condemnation of Jesus continues today even in our hearts on this Good Friday. Look at Christ on the cross and allow the power of the cross to reign in our hearts as God's grace, mercy and love are poured into our lives.
The deeper meaning of the washing of feet is the total self-emptying of Jesus in love. When we truly love, we need to empty ourselves of pride, honour, ego and recognition. This is what we are called to imitate today so that we can feel with our brothers and sisters, identify with each other and share in the same humanity - for that is the perfection of Love.
Christian Joy does not mean a joy without suffering. Christian joy means we are joyful in suffering; joyful in bearing the cross of Jesus, because of love. When there is love, there is joy in suffering. Without love, suffering will cripple us.
God does not exercise His power like worldly kings. He does not command His creatures to serve Him because He wants to make use of them. He does not impose rules on them for His sake but for their good. Jesus comes to bring us peace. But we must be ready to change our expectations of God. We must not expect God to fulfil our images of Him. Rather, we must accept God on His own terms. We must accept the gospel and the hard teachings of our Lord as taught and not twist the gospel to suit us. We must accept the way to peace and unity on His terms, not ours. Unless we are open to change, we cannot find peace within ourselves and unity with our fellowmen.
To celebrate the dedication of the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd, is really to celebrate our own dedication to God. We are the living temple of God. No matter how beautiful the temple, or the Church is, what is most important is what about the living Church, the people of God. That should be our focus. If the people are vibrant and full of faith, you can be sure the temple will be great. But if people have lost their faith, the temple will deteriorate.
As we journey into a new year, let us turn to our Blessed Mother, because she is the one who will lead us and show us how to make a journey of faith. Mary will show us the face of our Lord Jesus if we journey with her. Let us also support one another, just as Mary supported Jesus all the way to the Cross.
The Good News that we proclaim and celebrate at Christmas is that the Saviour has come. Jesus and His love for us is freely given and without exception, even though we are unworthy. God has become man in Christ Jesus to assume our humanity, so that we in turn can share in the divine life of Christ.
The kingship of Christ is not a matter of space or territory. The only space Jesus as King wants to occupy is our hearts and minds. We need to ask ourselves how we are going to extend the rule of Christ, through the vocations we choose and how we use our talents.
Our position in society, our role in life and in the community, our talents and our skills are all given by God in accordance with His plan. We must never think that we are the best person, the smartest and the best leader in our community or in the world. God chose us in very mysterious ways, often surprising the expectations of the world.
When we know our ultimate goal is to be with the Lord - to share in His glorified life - then we will take this life seriously. Our lives will already be a reflection of the life that is to come. Mary lived that glorified life, always in union with Christ.
Today, we celebrate the Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ. This feast focuses on the Eucharist as the greatest gift our Lord bequeathed to the Church before His death. Unfortunately, many of us lack appreciation and understanding of the Eucharist. Whilst the Church professes our faith in the real presence of our Lord in the Eucharist and celebrates the Eucharist daily in our churches, and most of us receive the Eucharist when we attend Mass, how much faith and reverence do we have in this exercise? More often than not, we receive Holy Communion without preparation, or are even conscious of what we are receiving. For some, it is just a wafer, for many, they know intellectually it is the body of Christ, but their actions do not seem to show that they are convinced because they lack devotion and love when they receive the Eucharist. Do you know what you are receiving and the implications of receiving Holy Communion?
Our mission is to bring unity among all men and women. But this unity is only possible if man is reconciled with God. Our mission is one of communion, and if the mission is to be accomplished, it must be accomplished in communion. The Holy Spirit has bestowed on us different gifts, talents and charisms. Each of these charisms is important for the growth of the community and for the service of the mission. Every charism should be received with gratitude and every charism must be promoted, so that the face of God is seen in the lives of the people.
Today, as a consequence of a relativistic, individualistic and materialistic world, it is hard to know exactly how we can respond to the challenging trends that are happening today. Many of us are confused as to what direction we should take. And we cannot agree on moral principles, moral values. The Holy Father in his recent World Communications Sunday message urged us to “Listen with the Heart”. We need to learn to feel with people who are sharing, and at the end of the day, in the context of Prayer, we ask the Lord, where and how we should respond.
On the feast of Pentecost, we are given the power of the Spirit to live out our new life. For us to remain in communion with God, we need to put sin to death in our lives, and express our obedience to Him out of mutual love.
Communication is a two-way process. Speaking and listening. But the one who speaks often is not given adequate listening. Most of our conversations are monologues. We are more interested in being heard, to have our ideas accepted, and our demands fulfilled. We tend to be more on the defensive. Instead of listening, we are preparing our defences, finding fault with the other party’s proposition. This is why there is a communication breakdown not just between individuals, organizations and society, but the world at large. Listening requires tremendous effort, emptying ourselves of our concerns, preoccupations, and strongly held convictions, and listening with the ears of our heart to what the person is saying and not saying. It requires humility and self-emptying to listen with compassion and with love.
Even with challenges and difficulties, we can have peace if we are in union with God in love and truth. It is our union with the Father, in the Son, and through the Spirit that gives us true peace.
Like Jesus and his community of 12 apostles, we need to build and be part of faith-loving communities centred in Christ. Such communities help us to persevere and grow our faith, as well as find fellowship and love.
A beautiful hymn in the Divine Office contains the following lyrics: "Paschal triumph, Paschal joy, only sin can this destroy." Indeed, only sin can take away our Easter joy. So if we want to live in Easter, then let us keep dying to our selfishness, sin and fears, and instead walk in His light.
When Jesus was on the cross, He was carrying upon Himself the sins of the world and, most of all, the rejection of man towards God. He bore the silence of God, which is what atheists experience, without God! Only when Christ was hanging on the cross and said, “into your hands I commend my Spirit” did the Holy Spirit take over the mission of our Lord and complete it through the ages. The victory of Jesus was complete when the Father raised Him from the dead. But the ultimate victory would be won by the Spirit of Jesus at work in us. Only when we surrender our plans, our life and our vulnerabilities to the Father, will He then work in us and through us.
In His perfect love and mercy, Jesus forgave the sins of the apostles even before they betrayed Him. Following in His example, may we forgive those who hurt us. This is the greatest act of "washing" another's feet.
As members of the royal priesthood, we are the frontliners of witnessing in the world. We are called to live out the message of the Gospel, and to proclaim Jesus wherever we are. Meanwhile, the ordained ministry is to support the members of the royal priesthood - to nurture, strengthen and heal with the Sacraments.
Jesus came as the King of Peace into Jerusalem. Even Pilate recognized this. Jesus came to bring peace, seating on a humble donkey. The people recognized His symbolic gesture and so proclaimed Him as the One who would bring peace to the nation. He came to make us all kings by submitting to God. Jesus lived out what He taught at the Sermon on the Mount. His teaching was not just words but rooted in the way He lived. Jesus was a reconciler. By His death, He reconciled man with God, and not just man with man. He was truly a man of peace when confronting His enemies. Jesus gave peace to those who believed in Him. How did He find strength to act with compassion and forgiveness?
God is always faithful to His covenant, even when we are not faithful to Him. If the Lord abandoned the people for a while, it was to bring them back to realization and repentance. But God was ever ready to bring them back when they returned to Him. Such is God’s faithful love for His people. God had prepared a lasting covenant beyond even what Isaiah prophesied. It is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ who will establish the everlasting Covenant. The Lord in today’s gospel claims total identification with His Father. In action, Jesus acted like the Father, and on His Father’s behalf. Indeed, the ultimate proof that Jesus is truly the Son of God is His Father’s vindication of His works and words by raising Him from the dead after a most scandalous and humiliating crucifixion on the cross. When we also act in union with Jesus in mind, heart and will, we too, like Jesus, will also be in union with God.
Reconciliation is not the work of man - it is the work of God. God always reaches out to us. Saint Paul was well aware of this when he said: "It was God who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the work of handing on this reconciliation." As we are reconciled and loved unconditionally by God, can we extend the same reconciliation and love to those who have hurt us?
All that God wants of us is sincerity of heart. Sacrifice and holocausts might be good to demonstrate our love for God but they could also be used as an attempt to hide our lack of love for God and give the impression to others that we are sorry for our sins and that we love God. What the Lord asks of us is perfect love. When we are sincere in love and perfect in love, then we will do all things with love and for love. Our external worship and the actions we do come from a heart of love. We love only because God has first loved us. We love only because God’s love is in our hearts. This is why we want to share that love with others. And when we do that, our love is always free and comes from a deep gratitude inside us. Not that we feel we are better than others but we feel grateful that God has loved us and blessed us with His grace to do good. When we love in that manner, there is no pride, ego or comparison with others.
Jesus is the perfect sacrifice simply because He does God's will. He took upon the human body and emptied Himself of His divinity, in order to show us what it means to do the will of God. Let us keep in mind that the only holocaust we can truly offer is ourselves.
When we do not get what we want, we think that God does not care for us. We want God to do our bidding and pander to our whims and fancies. So when we have to go through suffering, we blame God. And if God does not restore our fortunes, we turn away from Him. Why do we lose faith in God? It is forgetfulness. The second reason why people harden their hearts is because of sin. When sin accumulates, we harden our hearts to goodness and truth. Thirdly, people harden their hearts because of pride. Intellectualism is the greatest pride of humanity today. We think we have the answer to everything and everyone presumes he is right. When we are arrogant and think so highly of ourselves, we harden our hearts to truth and goodness.
Jesus perfected the laws by carrying them out in a spirit of love. It is love that should helps us carry out and implement the Law. The law of perfect love is what is required.
We must be prepared and ready at all times. The day of reckoning will come. Let us continue to persevere in holiness, and not receive the grace of God in vain. Instead, let us nurture our faith with the Word of God and the grace of the Sacraments.
Joseph was a just man not only because he acted justly, that is, in accordance with the laws of God, but his justice was rooted in his faith in God. It was not only legal justice or human justice. He acted justly because he believed in God and that the laws given by God through Moses were good and therefore must be respected and obeyed. Joseph did not simply trust God but carried out what the Lord asked of him. Indeed, God who is faithful to us requires us to be just by trusting in Him. It requires us to take the leap of faith and entrust our lives into His hands. Today, when we celebrate the Feast of St Joseph, we are called to imitate his justifying faith. We are called to cooperate with God’s plan even when it is difficult or seemingly impossible to do. We must trust in God as Joseph did, relying on His grace and obediently carrying out His will to the best of our ability.
We all have our dreams. They give us hope of finding fulfilment. They push us to go beyond ourselves. They make us creative and resourceful. They give us something to work towards. No great things can be achieved, no great inventions could have happened, if we are without dreams. But what kind of dreams do we have? Often in life, instead of allowing the dreams of God to be fulfilled in us, according to His plans, our human imperfections complicate the plan of God for us. Hence, it is important that our dreams be in line with God’s dream. Otherwise, we will find that we have sought to realize dreams that come from our own insecurities and from the temptations of the Evil One. What the Lord said to the people of His time is also addressed to us. Are we cooperating with His plan for us? Are we allowing Him to reign in our lives? Is Jesus the cornerstone in our life? Are our plans aligned with God’s plan for our community and for the world?
We have plenty of prophets in our days too, appealing to us to trust in God, to turn back to Him and to exercise mercy and compassion for the suffering and those in want. Yet, we still do not listen or are moved. Indeed, what we need is humility to listen to God’s word. This explains why Abraham said, “If they will not listen either to Moses or to the prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone should rise from the dead.” What we need is humility and faith, otherwise even the resurrection of Christ cannot convince anyone.
The price of sharing in Christ’s glory is that we become a ransom and a vicarious sacrifice for all. The true honour of a leader is measured by how much he has given himself to society, the poor and all humanity. They are remembered by how much they serve others.
There are many types of love. We have love for our loved ones and family members, the love of friends, love that springs from our passion, and the highest form of love, agape, which is unconditional love. It is a love that is directed towards others, who could even include our enemies. It is the perfection of love. Such a love is truly the love of God. This is what our Lord meant when He said, “You must therefore be perfect just as your heavenly Father is perfect." No one in this sense can be perfect because only God is perfect. The perfection is the perfection of love. And the truth is that the failure to arrive at this perfection means that we will never be complete and liberated in life, because we are created for love. One who fails to love, lacks fulfilment. Perfection is when we fulfil the purpose that God has created us to be.
We need to consider carefully the choices we make for ourselves, our children and our society. There is no escaping the fact that even personal choices will have an impact on others. One cannot say that this is my personal decision and it has nothing to do with others. For better or for worse our personal decisions will bear on others. This is why those in leadership and in government must consider seriously not just the immediate benefits of the decisions and policies they make, but they must have the foresight to see far enough how today’s decisions will impact the future trend and development of the people and the country.
We must seek to know our Father more and more so that our confidence in His love and wisdom will not be compromised even when things do not work out the way we think is good for us. Instead, may we accept His holy will since His divine plan for us is what truly brings us real happiness.
The Church cannot be renewed unless we are open to a constant self-renewal born of fidelity to Jesus Christ. Today, let us take heed of the call to conversion and repentance. We pray for humility of heart so that we can hear the gospel anew, listening with attentive ears and a docile heart, so that once again, we are moved to repentance and begin the journey to holiness of life in Christ.
It is in the paschal mystery that we understand the depth of the Father’s mercy and love for us in Christ Jesus. It is at the Paschal Mystery that salvation is won for us and we are reconciled with God because He has paid the price for our sins. It is at the Paschal Mystery that the Holy Spirit, the love of God is poured into our hearts. Are we ready to affirm our identity as sons and daughters of God, brothers and sisters of our Lord in the world today?
The best way to give up our sins is to do good. This is what the prophet Isaiah means when he writes: "Your light will rise in the darkness, and your shadows become like noon." In this season of Lent, let us go beyond abstaining from sin and doing penance, by reaching out to others, feeling with and caring for them.
How should we observe the Lenten fast? We must fast with integrity. This means the objectives must be clear. Truly, fasting in the right spirit should make us humble, more conscious of our sins, sincerely repentant for the injury we have caused to others, especially our loved ones, more earnest in wanting to correct our faults, and greater compassion to reach out to those who are suffering. By healing and tending to the wounds of others, we heal our own wounds, by filling the lives of the poor and lonely with love, we find love ourselves.
We are called to be rich in the eyes of God: rich in love, generosity, goodness, kindness, patience, self-control. We will be robbed of our happiness and peace in life if we are instead filled with anger, competition, envy, greed, jealousy, and revenge.
Our conversion is a grateful response to the grace of God given to us in Christ. It is Christ who reveals to us His Father’s mercy for us through His vicarious death for our salvation. Jesus the Son of God became man to assume our human nature and to share in our human weakness. He too faced the same temptations, and even more intensely than anyone of us. He offered Himself as the sacrificial victim, a blameless holocaust, for the atonement of our sins to render the justice of God before man. This is why St Paul says, Jesus was made sin for us so that we can be reconciled with God. We have received His grace, the grace of baptism or the grace to desire baptism for our catechumens. Let us, as St Paul reminds us, not to receive the grace of God in vain.
Christianity is about transformation of life. It is not how long we have been Catholics, but the quality of our Christian life that matters. It is important for us to examine ourselves - our words, deeds and judgement; how have we been transformed to become more like Christ?
The treasury of the Church, whilst referring primarily to the infinite value of Christ’s saving death on the cross, also includes the prayers and good works of the Blessed Virgin Mary and all the saints who have united themselves with the Lord by living holy lives. So the treasury of the Church must be seen as our participation in Christ’s saving death.
The laws are meant to help us to strengthen the marriage; to persevere, especially when the going gets tough; not to give up so easily. But the law of indissolubility presupposes that we have faith in God. If we have faith in God and we revere God, then we will try; we will pray for wisdom and patience, helping each other to be purified in love. Without faith, without prayer and patience, it will be too challenging to manage marriage life today.
A truly rich person is someone who is contented, and makes use of his resources to bless others. It is in service, charity and sharing that we find great joy within, and that friendships are established and renewed.
Many of us are overly confident of ourselves to the extent that we become arrogant, smug and complacent. We can also be arrogant in our confidence in God. An over-confidence in God who supplies everything can lead to irresponsibility by refusing to do any work or planning of any sort. Knowing God’s will is not enough, but one must also carry out the will of God. There is also another form of arrogance, which is in attitude and behaviour, thinking that what we have is through our own merit and efforts. The arrogance displayed by James and John in the gospel showed that they forgot they were nobody when they were called. Humility is a characteristic of those who are truly wise, of those who recognize the grace of God in their lives.
If we want to truly be sons and daughters of the Most High, we need to share in the life of God and in His nature of loving. It is about loving even our enemies and those who have hurt us. After all, Christ died on the cross not for his friends, but for all, including his enemies.
When we use the tongue in a destructive manner, we can tear people down and discourage them from doing good. It is not just what we say but how we say it that can hurt people deeply. What we must do is to use our tongue in a constructive manner. We can use words to heal or to divide, to destroy or to build. How, then, can we tame our tongue?
An authentic faith is not merely living a life of charity and integrity, it means a decisive following of Christ. This is what the gospel is asking of us. Anyone who believes in Christ must not just follow His teaching and example but seeing life and living it from His perspective. This is the litmus test of faith. Earlier on, St Peter confessed his faith in Christ as the Son of the Living God. What was our Lord’s response? He commanded them to keep the revelation from others. Today’s gospel therefore calls for a change of mindset, putting on the ways of God rather than seeing from the perspective of man.When Jesus said, “If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him renounce himself and take up his cross and follow me”, He was not simply saying that we are to carry our own cross, our suffering that comes from daily living patiently. Rather, He asked for self-renunciation. The context of Jesus’ command is the cross that He had to carry as the Son of Man. This cross that Jesus carried was more than living a simple lifestyle or bearing the inconvenience of daily life but rather, it was the cross that was carried on account of the proclamation of the Kingdom of God.
Today, the Lord is inviting us to put on a new mind. In His passion prophecy, He indicated that the way to life is through suffering and death. God wants to surprise us and help us to evaluate what truly can bring us happiness in life. It is when we live as brothers and sisters in the Lord, caring for each other in the community, each one bringing his or her talents and resources to the community that makes life worth living.
If we want to earnestly engage in dialogue, we need to grow in self-awareness, so as to be conscious of the motives that drive us. Are our motives based on truth or our own vested interests?
Today, we are reminded that we have a personal responsibility to grow the Church of Christ. Each one of us, according to the grace God has given to us, must take part and play our role in the building not just of the physical church but the community. In this work, it presupposes that we will build upon our faith in Christ. We need to ask ourselves if our people are growing in the faith. How can we once again lay the foundation for all Catholics to really have a vibrant faith? If we have faith in Jesus, then we will want to grow the Church, with the charisms that the Lord has blessed us, we will use them to build the Church, build the People of God.
For us believers, Christ in the gospel offers us a blessed life. It is not a life of riches and pleasures, but one of God and the kingdom, filled with compassion, love and truth. It is about making our limited time on earth count, knowing a greater, more complete life awaits us for eternity.
At the end of today's gospel, Jesus commanded His disciples to announce the gospel to all the nations. Hence, the Christian Faith can be expressed in different cultures but the faith is the same. Christian Faith is to influence society to adopt the gospel values and ultimately to accept Christ as their Saviour and Lord. It is ironical that countries that are or were predominantly Christian are fighting and killing among themselves. How can we who worship the same Lord and Father kill our own brothers and sisters? This is true for other religions as well. Religions must unite us all, not divide.
Let us pray for humility and grace when we transmit the Good News to others, so that they too might be able to listen to Him and find His Word healing and enlightening.
What is important with regard to our doctrinal and moral response to new situations, is that we must maintain the fundamental principles of our faith in God and our central beliefs in our Jesus and His Church, and the basic moral laws. It is also critical that we do not just observe the laws slavishly but to ask ourselves how we are keeping the intent and the spirit of the fundamental laws given by God. What is required of us is a good sense of pastoral outreach, guided by the spirit of the laws.
Jesus in today's Gospel said: “It is what comes out of a man that makes him unclean.For it is from within, from men’s hearts, that evil intentions emerge: fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, malice, deceit, indecency, envy, slander, pride, folly. All these evil things come from within and make a man unclean.” Again, wisdom is defined in terms of justice and righteousness. It is not about what we eat or dress that will define us but what is in our heart. What makes us miserable is not the external dressing or eating but whether our heart is one of compassion, love and justice. When we are full of evil, selfishness, greed, lust and anger, we can be dressing and eating well, it does not mean that we are happy. Thus, food cannot defile us but what defiles us is the actions that come from an evil heart.
A leader without humility will become a dictator, a tyrant and divisive. When leaders think too highly of themselves, they listen to no one. They tend to be overconfident of themselves and hardly pray to God! Often, they become proud and egoistic. They forget that they were chosen by God’s grace, and tend to emphasize on what they do, how much they have achieved, and how hard they worked. They tend to focus on themselves instead of getting people to focus on God. Instead of sincerely glorifying God and feeling humbled at their achievements, they glorify themselves. But when we are humble even when we do well, then God will be glorified because we will give all glory to Him. When we truly believe that it is God’s grace alone, we will do even more for Him because we know success in our ministry is His work in us.
To be a good shepherd like our Lord, one needs to have a discerning and intuitive heart. This will allow one to act in faith which goes beyond logic. With a discerning heart, one will know when to say yes and when to say no to requests, and be disciplined yet not rigid in spiritual practices.
When we do evil things, our thoughts will come back to haunt us in our quiet moments, and condemn us. Trying to live with a guilty conscience is like trying to live with oneself condemning oneself. When the voice of conscience becomes louder, we live in fear of being found out and of the consequences that will catch up with us for the evil we have done. This is true for a murderer, a molester, an adulterer or a criminal. We are haunted all the time, so much so sleep evades us. When we live a life of sin, our conscience will haunt us in our dreams, when we are quiet, or when we are at prayer.
As leaders, we must be close to God, listening to Him so that we may be prudent, wise, and acting justly to care for the interests of those under our charge. We need to put on the mind of God in the way we exercise our leadership.
We need to be purified in our service and commitment, otherwise the light of Christ in us will die down. On this Feast of the Presentation, let us ask the Lord for the grace to renew our faith, our commitment to the vocation we have chosen, and to the life of Christian discipleship.
A person is truly happy when he is in right relationship with God, others and himself. He experiences the apex of his happiness when he finds the face of God in man.
A true prophet is motivated purely by the love of God and His people. Such a person is compassionate, patient, and speaks with charity. How can we exercise our prophetic role worthily?
It is important for us to understand the nature of sin and evil. It grows by leaps and bounds once we allow sin to enter our lives. No one becomes evil overnight. Sin begins small. It begins with idleness. An idle mind is the Devil’s workshop. When the devil leads us to one sin, we are led to a string of sins. Sin does not come singly. It has many offspring. To cover up our sin for fear of the consequences, we commit more sins. We begin to lie, to deceive and even to kill. If we nurture evil, then evil will grow to be stronger each day till we are numbed to sin and evil. But if we sow the good seed of virtue and truth, then eventually, “of its own accord the land produces first the shoot, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. And when the crop is ready, he loses no time: he starts to reap because the harvest has come.” So we must be careful of what seeds we sow and what kind of ground we provide for the seed to grow.
The life of King David is a reminder to us all of the necessity to remain humble and grateful for the blessings we have received, and to make the best of them in spite of our weaknesses and human frailty. Our task is to help others make full use of their gifts the Lord has given to them. We should not display our gifts to the extent that we overshadow and stifle the gifts of others. The gift of leadership is to empower others to be leaders as well, according to the talents and gifts the Lord has blessed them with. That is why we have nothing to boast about our blessings except gratitude and humility.
Today's readings reveal to us how Jesus and Saint Paul mentored the disciples of Christ. We too need to be mentored, and in turn, mentor others to become missionary disciples.
God loves us all. He comes to save sinners. God “desires everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” (1 Tim 2:4). So, rather than rejoicing when our enemies fall, we should feel sad that we are not able to prevent them from suffering destruction because of their folly. If we rejoice over the downfall of our enemies, it shows that we are vindictive. If we have true love like David and our Lord for our enemies, we will pray for them. We will do what we can to save them. And if we cannot, we commend them to the Lord as Jesus did on the cross. We rejoice only when the lost sheep is found.
We need to pray for a strengthening of faith for bishops, priests and our lay people. Only faith can help us believe in God's justice and allow us to surrender ourselves into His hands and divine providence. For the Lord knows best.
When we are envious and insecure, we tend to judge incorrectly and misperceive. Blinded by our envy, we tend to think that our friends are our enemies. Like Jesus, let us be confident of ourselves, founded in God's strength.
The truth is that the Sabbath cannot be for man unless the Sabbath is first for God. We are called to make time for God before everyone else. In this sense, we must say that whilst the Sabbath is for man, it is also for God because we are called to honour Him, give Him praise, recognize His presence in our lives. When we put God as the centre of our life, then we need to see the practical implications of what this really means. It is not enough to praise and worship Him in words but also in our lives. In other words, observance of the Sabbath Law is to imitate the God of creation in giving life to others through our life-giving words and actions.
If we are to be truly reflective of Christ, we must seek to be inclusive, constantly connected to God, and growing in all forms of maturity. May we embody these in our Catholic organisations, especially those involved in humanitarian causes.
If we are confused about life, then all the more we need companions in faith. Together we need to pray, search for the will of God, and discern what the Holy Spirit is trying to tell us as a community.
True faith in Jesus demands a personal relationship with God, a conviction in Him. Then, the signs and miracles we receive from Him will make a real difference in our lives.
We must never forget that if He was able to remain focused in His ministry, never suffering burn-out or becoming edgy and irritable, it was because Jesus was a man of prayer. He knew His priority. He spoke to His Father before He spoke to man. He was intent on doing the Father’s will and not His own. That, we must do as well. Listening to the Father through His Son, so that in our ministry, we will not end up building our own kingdom, fulfilling our own plans, depending on ourselves, but truly doing what the Lord is asking of us, going to places that we prefer not to go, doing everything in obedience to God.
Although sinless, Jesus was baptised so as to identify with us. To share and suffer every effect of our sins. He wants us to know He is one with us in our journey and struggles. And that through His Spirit, we can overcome all temptations by the grace and power of God, just as He did.
We must be like John the Baptist, happy to know that we have brought others to Christ by our words and actions. Our great joy is to be the bridegroom’s friend, and hearing His voice should make us feel complete. To know that we have done our part in helping the Church, the bride to deepen her love for the Lord, the bridegroom is our greatest joy. Indeed, the Lord must grow greater and greater and we grow smaller. Once our job is done, we can depart in peace to be with Him in heaven for ever.
For Christians, salvation is through baptism and the reception of the Eucharist. These are two primary sacraments that mediate the divine life of God to man. In both sacraments, the Spirit of Jesus is given to us. Baptism is the entry into the Christian community and the Eucharist makes us a member of Christ’s body. When we are baptized, we receive the life of the Spirit, but we need to be nurtured and strengthened in our union with the Lord and the Christian community through the Eucharist. United with Jesus through baptism and the Eucharist, God gives us “eternal life and this life is in his Son; anyone who has the Son has life.” With Christ and His Spirit in us, we can overcome everything in this world.
Jesus came to proclaim the Good News to the poor, not just the socio-economically poor but those who are receptive to the Good News. Of course, those who are materially well-off, powerful in society, highly educated and self-sufficient do not need God and so tend to be less open to the grace of God at work in their lives. Those who are spiritually poor are receptive to the gospel. Jesus came for those who are oppressed, not just by political or religious institutions but spiritually under the bondage of the Evil One when they live in sin, selfishness, greed and lust. Jesus came not just for those physically blind but for those who lack the wisdom to see the truth of how they were living their lives. Jesus did not just heal the blindness of Bartimaeus but also that of Zacchaeus. Jesus came for the sinners, the Gentiles, the lowly, the humble and those who were rejected and marginalized.
We know God loves us and lives within us, when we able to do the following: love unconditionally, do good without expecting rewards, go the extra mile for others, find every occasion to be at the service of people, and face the day of judgement without fear.
Faith is solidarity with each other. Hence, it is critical that we keep up our study and contemplation of scriptures and the study of theology, and most of all sharing our faith with one another just as the Jewish leaders shared their findings with the Magi. Through faith study and sharing, we support each other in faith, especially when we are going through periods of doubt. We need the company and support of our friends to find the star. Like the Magi, they travelled together to give each other support. They never travelled alone because they would be lost or be led astray. The Feast of the Epiphany entails that we who have found the Lord must not keep Him to ourselves but share with all of humanity.
If we are all children of God, then we must treat our brothers and sisters with deep respect and dignity because they are the face of God. We have a common Father, a common family, a common destiny to be with our Father together with the rest of humanity at the end of time. This is the basis for peace, knowing that we are all called to be one people, one family of God.
As the year comes to an end, let us spend some time before the Lord to read His Word, go through the events of our 2021, and ask Him how we can move forward anew, so that we can find fresh hope and new perspective.
We are possessed by what we seek to possess. When we constantly seek out what the world has to offer, we become slaves of the world. Instead, we need to always seek Christ and His will, while being good stewards of God’s gifts in creation.
Simeon in today’s gospel teaches us how to prepare to depart from this world. We read that he “was an upright and devout man.” Living a life of integrity and honesty is certainly a pre-requisite for us to die in peace. When we live an inconsistent lifestyle, a life of sin, a life of deceit and irresponsibility, a life that is lived only for oneself, without regard for the rights of others, then we cannot live in peace. Those of us who have ill-gotten gains will deeply regret because we cannot take even a cent to the next world. That is why it is important for us to strive to live an upright and just life. In the final analysis, knowing that we have done our best, kept His commandments, especially of love and selfless service to Him and our brothers and sisters, is what will give us peace when departing from this world.
Our children are gifts from God, for us to form them in love and faithfulness to Him. When our children have faith and piety for the Lord, they will be faithful to us and love us even more.
In celebrating the first coming of Christ, the Church puts in perspective His life, death and resurrection. We have regained our dignity as God’s children and we know for certain that our goal is to be with God our Father after our journey in this life. We live with hope and confidence that there is a tomorrow. So how do we celebrate the past so that the present becomes a real foretaste of the future if not to welcome our Lord into our hearts in prayer, in worship, and also in our fellowmen. Indeed, who were those who welcomed our Lord when He came? They were the shepherds in the countryside. They were the lowly ones despised by society. God sent His angels to announce to them, “Today in the town of David a saviour has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.” We too must announce the Good News to those who are poor, spiritually, materially and emotionally. We must be the Emmanuel of God, His presence in our outreach to those who have no joy, those in despair and those without hope and love. We must be generous with our gifts, especially to those who need assurance of our love. May we speak words of comfort to those who need to hear words of encouragement. This is a difficult world, let us not discourage each other by saying nasty words and destroying the goodness in people. May we bring Christ, His love, peace and joy to those that we meet today and tomorrow and every other day. Let us be peacemakers, be people who inspire and encourage those who are weak. Let us be forgiving and tolerant of sinners. In this way, they will see the compassion and love of God in us as we see it in Christ Jesus, our Prince of Peace.
God wants to be close to us, and all His people. Let us welcome Him, and share about Him with others. Like John the Baptist, may we proclaim the forgiveness of our Lord in our lives, and show the way to those who walk in darkness and in despair by giving them hope in our Lord, the Rising Sun.
Like Mary, Elizabeth and Zechariah, we have to ask ourselves how God is working in our lives and wants us to cooperate in His plan of salvation. In these days of preparations and celebrations, let us not forget to make time for our Lord, for silence and contemplation.
Israel suffered from a long series of inefficient, evil and weak kings. The last of whom was King Zedekiah, whose name means "righteousness". But he was anything but that. Jesus is the fulfilment of the prophecies of the Old Testament: a true and righteous king. A king of integrity, justice and peace.
Without joy, there is no Good News to proclaim. Good news can only be proclaimed when we have encountered the joy of God. The timing of this celebration coincides providentially with the Third Sunday of Advent which is celebrated as Gaudete Sunday, the day of rejoicing. Indeed, today is a day of double rejoicing because we are celebrating our 200th Anniversary and also because we are already experiencing the joy of the Lord in our midst as we await the celebration of the Birthday of our Lord in two weeks’ time. With God in our midst, we do not have to fear the future. Most of all, He will renew us in His love. Yet, as the scripture reminds us, our job is not done. There is still much to do to build Church and society so that our people can live in peace, harmony and with prosperity.
The best way to prepare ourselves for the coming of Christ is to bring others to Jesus. By our love, encouragement, joy, prayers, and faith sharing, we help others encounter Jesus. In turn, we will also encounter Him deeply.
In the gospel, Jesus encountered the same lame excuses of the religious leaders in rejecting His message. He used the analogy of how children played among themselves. “What description can I find for this generation? It is like children shouting to each other as they sit in the market place: ‘We played the pipes for you, and you wouldn’t dance; we sang dirges, and you wouldn’t be mourners.'” In using this analogy, Jesus was alluding to Himself and John the Baptist. Both were rejected by the religious leaders, not because what they said was not true but because the religious leaders were not willing to give up their prestigious position and their monopoly of power and revenue. At the end of the day, the Lord gave us this principle to discern whether we should accept or reject. “Yet wisdom has been proved right by her actions.” In other words, instead of being prejudiced with people, their way of worship, their way of service, we must ask if what they do really bring about a greater love and union with God, seen in their love for their neighbours.
Like John the Baptist, if we live with honesty, integrity, and a clear conscience - always seeking to do good and what is true - we need not fear anything. Even when others misunderstand and misjudge us, we will do what is right. For we are accountable to God, who gives us grace to live out His will for us.
Being able to respond so freely to the angel’s annunciation of God’s choice for her to be the Messiah’s mother implies she must have had a deep intimacy and relationship with God. When we are able to act freely without hindrance it means that the effects of original sin do not have a hold over us. This is why even for us who are baptized we are given extra graces to resist sin in spite of the fact that concupiscence remains in us as a struggle because of original sin. We have a darkened intellect and a weak will. But in the case of Mary, with all the dangers, obstacles and anxiety ahead of her in accepting conception of Jesus, such as misunderstanding with Joseph, disbelief of her relatives, possible condemnation of death, she did not show any sign of anxiety. She was freed from the fear of death. Indeed, she could carry the pain of being the mother of Jesus throughout her life only because she did not suffer the effects of original sin. Even when Simeon prophesied, “This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed – and a sword will pierce your own soul too” (Lk 2:34f), she was undeterred in carrying out the will of God. Mary’s relationship with the Lord was so intense that at the Wedding at Cana, she simply left it to the Lord after informing Him that the wedding couple had no more wine left for the celebration.
For the glory of God to shine through us, we need to straighten our lives. We need to put our lives in order. What are the mountains that we need to level? Is it our pride, arrogance, self-sufficiency, and self-reliance that hinder us from recognizing the goodness of God in our lives and the love of our fellowmen? What are the valleys that keep us from being receptive to God’s love and our fellowmen? Perhaps, our ability to see goodness in this life is clouded by our negativities, our failures, our disappointments, our hurts and wounds that were inflicted on us in life or in ministry. So we are looking at the world and God with vindictive hearts. What are those winding ways and rough roads that need to be straightened and made smooth? Even though many of us are good Catholics, yet we all know that we are far from perfect. We have our weaknesses, our attachments, our weakness to the sin of gluttony, lust and greed. Some live an ambiguous life, trying to appear and live as good Catholics but yet cannot let go for our sins completely.
In his public ministry, Jesus was often moved with compassion to help those who were poor, sick, and desperate. Today, He is inviting us to be co-workers in the vineyard, to reach out to the lost sheep in our midst. How can we help them to find hope in God?
It does not matter whether we are apostles or prophets, but we are all called to witness to Christ through the blessings and gifts He has given to us for the service of love, which is ultimately the proclamation of the Good News, whether in words or in deeds. This explains why St Paul considered the proclamation of the Good News as a duty imposed on him since the Lord gave him the command to preach the gospel to the Gentiles, and hence he was happy to offer the gospel for free. His greatest joy was to bring people to encounter the Lord and find faith in Him. The proclamation of the gospel for St Paul was not a matter of proselytization or conversion; rather, it was simply to share the Good News according to the situation but always in a loving and sensitive manner. Let us show our gratitude as St Paul did for the privileges he received by using his entire life for the proclamation of the Good News.
Acting on the Word of God requires courage, perseverance and faith. It presumes that we believe that God is faithful to His word, that He is the everlasting Rock. In the final analysis, it all depends on our personal relationship with the Lord. If we know Him as a person, we will be faithful to Him. Faith grows in and through intimacy. The final test of faith will be seen in the trials we face and how we continue to remain faithful to Him. It is not about words, not about knowledge of doctrines, not about how many years we have been a Catholic, but it is about the readiness to suffer with Him, to carry the cross and follow after Him. Let us too walk with Jesus so that we will always be strong enough to face the challenges of life and remain faithful to Him. He is our everlasting Rock!
The Eucharist is not just consumed by an individual for his or her own needs. Rather, the Eucharist is consumed as a community, to strengthen the bonds of the community. It is spiritual food that helps us to share what we have with others, and in the sufferings of others.
It was with great expectation and hope that the early Christians waited for the Parousia, not with fear but with great joy. With Christ’s coming, He would bring justice, peace and restoration. It would be a time when all sufferings come to an end and those who are faithful will be rewarded with eternal life in Christ. This, too, should be our attitude, whether it is with regard to the first coming of Christ at Christmas or at the end of time. When Christ is with us, when Christ lives in our hearts, there will always be joy, thanksgiving, peace, love and lasting security. This is why Christmas is celebrated with great joy. It is a season of peace and goodwill because Jesus the King of the world remains an infant king, harmless, innocent and loving towards humanity.
We live in a world with much hypocrisy and inconsistency. If we are not careful, we will allow the world to desensitise us to what is wrong and right. We must stay awake, praying always for strength.
Our response to the challenges facing us should not be one of discouragement or despair. Scripture is confident that God will reign at the end of time. We need to flourish in our spiritual life. We must produce the fruits of the Spirit. We must allow the Kingdom of God to bear fruits in our life. That is why we must continue to be the light of the world and the salt of the earth. Eventually, God will prove victorious. The outcome of the battle is certain. But the battle is still ongoing. We must be discerning in what we do, the choices we make and the values we imbibe. Not everything in the world is good, not everything we read is true, not every product the world promotes is necessary for our happiness. We need to seek for things that are eternal and truly lasting and meaningful. This is where we need to take time to pray and discern the will of God for us and our those under our care. This is why Jesus asked us to look for the signs of God at work in our lives.
Like Daniel in today’s first reading, let us be respectful of the customs and laws of the land, whilst being faithful to God. Let us show ourselves to be good citizens, helping to contribute to the growth of the country, promoting dialogue among peoples of different religions and cultures, and most of all, fostering unity in the country.
Only united with our Lord and relying on the Holy Spirit can we overcome the trials and persecution of this world. On our own we will fail. The way to victory is not just fortitude but finding faith in the Lord. Only knowing Christ, His passion, death and resurrection will give us the strength and the endurance to fight the good fight until the end. Jesus assures us that He will give us the Holy Spirit to overcome the trials of life when the time comes. We should not be too worried whether we can find the courage and strength to do His tasks. But if we have faith in Him, He will supply us the necessary graces to accomplish His work.
Jesus was the king of truth and manifested His royal power not by force but by bearing witness to the Truth. Jesus showed Himself to be King by being faithful to Himself, to His identity and His mission, which is uniting all peoples together in love by being reconciled with God. The kingdom that He came to establish is a spiritual kingdom. He was seeking to establish the rule of God which is one of justice, charity and mercy.
What really makes us happy in life are beautiful, enriching, and lasting relationships. Relationships where bonding, support and encouragement are present. These, in turn, motivate us to extend that same love and support to others.
We often mask the demoralized state of our personal Temple by external worship and observances. This temptation is very real, especially for those of us in positions of power, whether in politics or in religion. We appear to be righteous and serving the people, but we abuse their trust and authority by making use of people for our needs, pleasures and our riches. This is why the temptation to use our power and authority for self is even greater. As leaders we must be watchful that we do not fall into the same trap as the Jewish political and religious leaders. We must ask ourselves whether we are serving the people and serving God or ourselves. In truth, external worship and the interior life of the person go together. It does not mean that external worship is meaningless just because of hypocrisy. For those of us who are touched by God interiorly, then what is felt within us must also be expressed sacramentally in worship and in rituals. So there is no dichotomy between the Temple worship and the purification of our own inner Temple.
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus set forth the blueprint to peace and a blessed life. He taught us purity of heart, compassion and mercy, poverty of spirit and the call to be peacemakers. The path of Jesus is non-violence and acceptance of sinners and gentiles. Today, let us pray specially for political and religious leaders, that they work together for the common good, so that peace may prevail.
We will be judged according to how we have surrendered ourselves to Him. Like the first and second servant in today's Gospel passage, we need to take risks and use our talents and charisms for the kingdom of God. The Lord rewards those who have expended their potentials to the fullest. Let us pray for an increasing faith, for only a radical faith to give us the strength to surrender all.
In our times, the Church often clashes with the values of the secular world, and sometimes governments who betray the common good of the people. It is not easy for Christians to be faithful to the gospel because it often involves being discriminated by those who are opposed to Christian values. Sometimes, one has to choose between the rich pagan life of pleasure offered by the world, or the sacrifices of the gospel, denying ourselves for the greater good of everyone, serving humbly and justly. It means standing up for truth, justice, the poor and the oppressed. It means standing up for strong and faithful marriages, the wholesomeness of family life, the dignity of the human person, the sacredness of life from conception to old age. Jesus warns us to see the signs of the times and cling on to His word. Only fidelity to His Word will see us through because His word is eternal. The Word of God is truth.
When we pray, we allow God to journey with us. Like any parent relating to a child, in prayer, the Father listens and helps us to process our experiences. Sometimes He simply holds us, other times He encourages us. And when needed, He intervenes.
Today, the Lord warns us to be prepared lest we miss the glory of the kingdom of God in our lives and at the end of time. We must avoid falling into the same mistake as the people during Noah’s time, or during the time of Lot, so absorbed in the mundane activities of the world that they had no place for God in their life. Whilst we certainly must give our heart and soul to whatever we are doing, we must put God as the centre of our life. His coming will be sudden and there would be no escape when He comes, whether the last day of this earth or our last day on earth. When He comes, we can take nothing with us.
The kingdom of God is already in our midst. When we live the life of the Spirit - loving, forgiving and sharing with one another - we make present and celebrate the kingdom of God. There will be sufferings, but there will also be a foretaste of the life of the world to come.
Those who have to pay a price for their conversion will cherish their faith, protect it and nurture it. For many converts, their journey to faith had not been easy, especially when they come from non-Catholic families. They would have faced opposition and even threatened severance of relationships. Gratitude springs from a grateful and humble heart of thanksgiving. When we are not conscious that all we have come from God, we will not be grateful and will not exercise the gifts given to us well. Of course, by extension, we all have been gifted with different talents and resources. But we abuse them when we fail to realize that such gifts given to us are meant for us to build the community, to build a fairer, just, compassionate and gracious society.
Underlying the call to be generous in today’s readings is a critique on the injustices of the world, especially of leaders. They play a key role in ensuring that justice prevails in our society; that is a fundamental form of charity.
What is truly our own is the gift of eternal life. Only that belongs to us forever. Everything else on this earth does not last. Our health will fail one day. Our position in society will eventually be forgotten. Our name and all that we had done would no longer be remembered or be reduced to one or two sentences in the history books. Our wealth would have to be given away when we die. Our power will be diminished when we cannot even think or remember anything. So nothing lasts on this earth. So, if we are really conscious that this world’s possessions do not belong to us but entrusted to us for the use of the world, we should be good stewards and use them to build community, strengthen friendships, motivate people to do good by showing appreciation, and to help the poor and the needy.
By virtue of our baptism, we are members of the royal priesthood. And so we have an obligation to proclaim the Gospel as priests. We are to be a bridge, so that others will know God through us. Like the dishonest steward in today's Gospel passage, let us us be creative and resourceful in our proclamation of the Good News.
In the parable of the lost sheep and the lost coin, the Lord reminds us that whilst the big picture is important, we must never forget that the biggest picture is concerned with the salvation of the lost, even of one soul. Every soul is important to us so much so that we would have to leave the other ninety-nine sheep to look for the one lost sheep or the one lost coin. We must therefore not sacrifice the loss of even one soul. Everyone is important to the Lord. If every soul is important to us, we must seek to contain them, accommodate their differences and seek understanding and appreciation through sincere dialogue. We cannot dismiss and cut off those who are not able to accept certain practices of the Church. We need greater tolerance and inclusivity in the Church, realizing that even if we have different views and practices, what is of utmost importance is that we have faith in the Lord and we live a life of charity.
Many beautiful relationships have been broken because we place people before Jesus. We place our ambition, career and power before Jesus. When Jesus is not the centre of our lives then everything will be out of perspective. But when we put Jesus in every relationship, we can be sure that the relationship will blossom. Because when Jesus is in that relationship, Jesus will tech us how to love, how to give; how to be selfless; how to be authentic. When the person loves like Jesus, the relationship will always work out. When we love Jesus, we want to love others. To love with our own strength, we will not go very far. We must love with the love of Jesus in our heart.
Jesus made it clear that the love of God and the love of neighbour, although distinguished, cannot be separated. Living out these two commandments will give us meaning and joy. It is true that we might not necessarily be blessed with riches even if we obey the laws, but we will live a rich life nevertheless. If one truly loves his brothers and sisters, he can never be too rich because he is called to share with others who have much less. Whatever he has belongs not to him but to God’s people, of which he is called to be a steward in distributing God’s wealth to others.
We must never imagine ourselves to be greater than who we are, or conversely, lesser. In fact, we should just be ourselves, living out our identity and exercising the gifts that God has bestowed upon us, for the service of humanity. It is about exploring the full potential of our being so that we can expend and expand ourselves for the good of others. By so doing, the greatest reward and joy we have would be our fulfilment and self-realization. Those who seek places of honour will be embarrassed when they realize that they have over-estimated their position in society, like the person who picked the place of honour when he was invited for a wedding feast. Our place and role in society is not because of our hard work alone but primarily because God has graced us according to the role He wants us to play in society and in His plan.
Christ, the Son of God, has been revealed to us as the Way, the Truth and the Life. He paid the price for our salvation. In spite of the fact that we are God’s adopted sons and daughters, His children, we have failed to live out our sonship in Christ. We take for granted the blessings the Lord has given to us. We take our faith as an inheritance, just like the Jews. But we have not done anything to grow our faith, to own it personally and to spread it. Instead, we store them away, hidden from our eyes and our consciousness. Instead of valuing the scriptures, the Lord has given to us, we do not read them or spend time praying the Word of God. We have been given the sacraments, the Eucharist and the Sacrament of Reconciliation, but we have not made full use of them to strengthen our faith and spiritual life, or to seek healing of mind, body and spirit. Such is the tragedy of those who have received God’s blessings, whether spiritual or temporal, but squandered them away, either through disuse or misuse, instead of using them for others. God mourns for us, because we have received tremendous privileges as children of God; but have we made use of the privileges that we have? Let us pray that we be more grateful for all that we have.
The Church is built on unity in diversity, not uniformity or homogeneity. The basis for unity in the Church is alignment with Jesus, with Him as our cornerstone. To promote unity, we need to dialogue with one another in sincerity and humility.
We are to cooperate with God's grace as much as we can. He does not judge us by our achievements but by our sincerity in trying to do His will and following Him in discipleship. We might fail or fall short but God will even use our mistakes and sins for our growth and purification. We must not be discouraged when things do not work out or when we experience set-backs in life. God will bring good out of them.
On Mission Sunday, we are called to give hope and direction to the world. When the Israelites were about to go on exile, Jeremiah gave them courage. He spoke of the hope for Israel even when the disasters were about to strike. God as the Father of Israel would never abandon Israel forever. Indeed, even the blind and the lame would be brought back. The truth remains that Jesus is on our side as He was on the side of Bartimaeus. When he shouted at the top of his voice, he caught the attention of our Lord. This is why we must be thick-skinned, not allow the crowd, symbol of society to drown us and intimidate us in reaching out to Jesus. This requires us to be attentive to the Lord instead of listening to the noises of the world. We must have faith in His mercy even when we fail or when we face obstacles in life. We must remain firm and strong when we are challenged in our faith. It was the faith of the blind man that saved him.
If we allow the Spirit of God to reign in our lives, we will see and think like Christ. We will be compassionate and forgiving to others. The Spirit of God will also bring fruits of joy, love and peace.
Through the grace of the sacrament of reconciliation, our sins are forgiven and once again, our relationship with God is re-established. With the Holy Spirit dwelling in our hearts, we are empowered to live out our sonship. But this does not mean that we will not give in to temptation at times. That is why we constantly need God’s forgiveness in the sacrament of reconciliation. By acknowledging our weakness as St Paul openly did, we confess our faith in Christ who saves us and empowers us. We no longer rely on ourselves but on Him alone. As we come before the Lord in shame for our sins, instead of hiding it to protect our pride, we are set free from our fears, our shame and the guilt that oppresses us. Let us surrender ourselves to the Spirit of Love, that is the only law we should always observe.
Indeed, there will be division in the family, among closed ones, in the community, in society, in the country and among the nations as there will be those who seek to eliminate the truth from being taught because the gospel exposes their deceits and selfishness. It is not surprising that the world wants to marginalize not just Christianity but all religions and relegate them to our homes and churches. They want to make secularism the religion of the day where there is no God, no values, no truth, no immorality, so that they can promote licentiousness. The choice we make must depend on the outcomes we desire. If we want to save the world, then like Jesus we must be ready to ignite the world with the fire of truth and love that purifies our minds and hearts. Indeed, either we evangelize the world, salt it with the gospel truth and light up with the light of Christ, or we will allow the world to desensitize us to what is good and true. We will allow sin to reign in the world until we are all destroyed.
True freedom is to live a life of love. To live a life of sin is to accept a false freedom, as sin enslaves us. When we are ruled by our passions, anger, hatred, selfishness, greed and addictions, we are certainly not truly free. Let us exercise our freedom for love, such that we are always ready to face the Lord.
Today, dioceses around the world commence their own process to prepare for the Synod in 2023. It is a time for all baptised Catholics to journey with and listen to one another. It is a listening with the heart, to understand each other better. Then, we can do real, proper discernment, to truly propose solutions or effective approaches to deal with the challenges of today's time. Let us ask the Holy Spirit to unite and inspire us all.
The mark of an authentic faith is one of confession. If we do not seek to confess our faith in Christ, it means that we are not too convinced of His love and importance to us in our lives. If Jesus is truly important to us, we will testify to His love, as we have experienced it.
Faith means trust. We show our faith in God by the actions that we take. Although Abraham was justified by faith in God’s promise, he did not sit idly waiting for things to happen. He obeyed God and moved out of Ur to the land he was not even sure where it was. So faith is not just an intellectual or emotional acceptance of God’s grace and mercy. True faith in Jesus must be seen in action. We must be ready to live out what has been given to us, our new adoption as God’s sons and daughters. Being a Christian does not mean that we are perfect. Precisely, we must continue with the struggle to be true to our identity as God’s children with the help of God’s grace. We need to continue in Christian discipleship. But if we fail at times, Christ is always waiting to forgive us.
We have no means of rendering justice to God for the sins we have committed against Him. Instead, Jesus - as an unblemished and perfect sacrifice - pays for our crimes without us having to make any reparation. How then, do we show our gratitude for God's unconditional love and mercy to us?
Even as believers of God, we can be self-righteous. This shows when we are judgemental, legalistic, blind to our own sins, as well as lacking in mercy and compassion for those who sinned. Let us be mindful that we are all sinners, made righteous only by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.
To enter the kingdom of God simply means that we need to put relationship with God and with our brothers and sisters before everything else. It is beautiful relationships that make life meaningful and happy. Happiness is not about how much money we have, what positions we hold in life, how powerful we are, what glory and honour people bestow upon us, what achievements we have made and the trophies we have earned. We can have all these and yet find life tiresome, a struggle, with lots of division, quarrels, competition, and arguments because of ambition, greed and power struggle. Happiness is to be with Jesus. Happiness is to be friends with everyone, especially those who are suffering and need our support. It is to walk with Jesus every day with the poor, basking ourselves in His presence. Jesus is our greatest friend and brother we can have in this world.
The truth is that Mary is the most blessed amongst all women simply because she carried Jesus not just in her womb but in her heart. She had the heart of our Lord in doing God’s will, listening to His Word and carrying them out in her life. She had a heart of thanksgiving, gratitude and compassion. She lived a life of detachment and humility, just contented to be the handmaid of the Lord. She did not fight with her enemies. She forgave them like Jesus and prayed for them. She was not bitter with the apostles for abandoning her Son in His moment of need. On the contrary, she rallied them together after the ascension of Jesus, praying with them for the coming of the Holy Spirit. She was truly blessed because she had Jesus’ heart and word in her. We too can live a blessed life, if only we imitate Mary; hearing the Word, putting it into action and trying to live the life of Jesus, so that we can acquire this heart of love and compassion.
It is not enough to say that I am with Jesus but remain passive in the face of evil. When we do not evangelize the world, the world will more than secularize us but demonize us. So there is truly no neutrality. The best way to keep ourselves protected is by doing good works and strengthening our faith. Being defensive will not be sufficient to protect us from our enemies. We must be proactive in conquering the world for Christ. By doing nothing, the little faith we have would be lost. This is why the world wants to marginalize all religions and proclaim secularism as the religion of the day in the name of unity and partiality. What we should be promoting is a multi-religious and multi-racial society where, in spite of our different religious beliefs and cultures, we respect each other, and are sensitive to each other’s faith and values. In this way, we empower and enrich each other in our faith and relationship as well. Let us pray that we stand up with Jesus and for Jesus.
The Rosary is truly a gift to the Church. When we contemplate on the Mysteries of the Rosary, we not only deepen our relationships with Jesus and Mary, we grow by becoming more like them.
In Luke's Gospel, the Lord’s Prayer begins with the word, "Father". This is the fundamental attitude of a disciple’s relationship with God. The word, "Father" connotes the combined sentiments of respect and intimacy. When authority is rooted not in fear but in reverence, it leads to intimacy. So Jesus is asking us to cultivate an attitude of respect and awe when we pray to our Father, but knowing His love for us, we can also be intimate with Him.
The real crisis in marriage and divorce and the family as well, is not just a social, psychological or moral crisis but fundamentally a crisis of faith. If today even our Catholics are shaken with regard to these fundamental questions of marriage and family, it is simply because their faith is weak. Indeed, as Catholics, we must be more compassionate and non-judgmental with respect to those who are divorced, even those who are in same-sex relationship. We must welcome everyone as a child of God. Accompanying them, welcoming them and accepting them would be the way to help them recover their faith in God.
The Guardian Angels are creatures of God who protect, guide, and intercede for us. They are intermediaries between God and humanity, reflecting the presence of God. We too must also be guardian angels to each other by being messengers of Good News, hope and love.
It does not matter where we are sent to love, or whom we are called to love. What is critical is that we must do everything out of love. As St Therese made it clear, “I knew that one love drove the members of the Church to action, that if this love were extinguished, the apostles would have proclaimed the Gospel no longer, the martyrs would have shed their blood no more. I saw and realised that love sets off the bounds of all vocations, that love is everything, that this same love embraces every time and every place. In one word, that love is everlasting.” When we choose to love and serve with love and humility, we will encounter a deep interior joy knowing that we have done what we could and should do, according to the charisms and talents the Lord has given to us.
Proclamation without tangible signs of the Good News remains merely words without action. We cannot proclaim the gospel merely by indoctrinating people but they need to experience the concrete signs of unconditional love, compassion, forgiveness and healing in our Catholic community. Proclamation and Healing therefore sums up the basic proclamation of the gospel. The mission is completed but ministry has begun. This is the real work of the Church. Mission and ministry are always the manifestation of those touched by the Lord. This is the clearest sign that we have received the Good News ourselves.
Today’s Feast of the Archangels reminds us that we do not fight alone. We fight with all the archangels and the angels in our battle against sin, evil and darkness. St Michael is our protector, St Gabriel our messenger of Good News, and St Raphael our healer of souls and body. Let us implore their assistance.
Today, as we celebrate Migrant Sunday, let us be conscious that our power, our gifts, talents, wealth and blessings are not just meant for us, whether as individuals or even as a nation. There can be no world peace or progress unless we seek greater cooperation with one another, empowering and enriching each other. The dangerous trend today is for some of us, and some countries, to be narrow-minded, thinking of our own security, failing to realize that the best way to protect our homes is to protect the interests of our neighbours. There is only one planet and one humanity. We all have a share in it and the resources are meant for all, not just a few people. Let us continue to enrich each other and build a united and happier world.
In today's Gospel passage, Jesus warned the disciples not to be overly taken up or be impressed by worldly success, recognition and power because these do not last. If we want to seek true and lasting glory, there is no escape from the cross. May we live with simplicity, docility in faith, and trust, knowing God is with us always.
When we look at our glorious past, we can either become disheartened or we find strength to rebuild ourselves. The truth is that by always lamenting about the past, we give up hope when we look at our failures and pathetic situation today. Throughout the history of Israel since the days when God spoke to the Patriarchs, it was always the same assurance, “I am with you.” These same words were spoken to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph and Moses. This has been God’s constant promise even to the apostles when the Lord commanded them to preach the Good News, and to St Paul in his missionary journeys. Indeed, just as God was faithful to the great figures of the past, so too He is also at work today. If it is the work of God, He will bring it to fruition. Like Jesus, we must go through suffering. It means hard work and sacrifices, even persecution and martyrdom, but God will see that His plan is accomplished. But God will be faithful to us as He was with Jesus. We must cooperate with the Lord.
Today, through the Prophet Haggai's words in the first reading, the Lord is asking us if our main priority is to glorify Him. Is God at the centre of our lives? Or have we become self-centred, inward-looking, alienated from others and from God? Are we in our own comfort zones, ignoring the needs of others who are suffering?
Today, let us be messengers of mercy and compassion to all by being credible witnesses of the Lord and not just teachers of faith. “So they set out and went from village proclaiming the Good News and healing everywhere.” We too must find all opportunities to spread the gospel, using our personal authority, living a life of faith, love and trust in God. Hence, let us be grateful if the Lord has appointed us to authority, and to use it well for the good of the community.
The truth is that in the eyes of God, we are all great. Greatness does not lie in what we do or what we achieve. We cannot make ourselves greater than what God has made us to be. The greatest thing on earth is not to be known as the Prime Minister or the President or the CEO but to be a child of God. Jesus guided His disciples to look at people in a new way, not by the standards of the world. All of us have the same value in the eyes of God. We have all been given the same gift of eternal life in Christ regardless of our status on earth. Jesus invites us to change our priorities. Jesus redefined greatness, especially in leadership, as one who serves and makes himself last of all.
We need to hear the Word of God, and practise it, so that it is firmly established in our hearts. We practise by talking about it, and putting it into action. If one does not use it, one will lose it.
True happiness in life comes from building meaningful and loving relationships with God and our fellowmen. It also comes from being contented with what we have. It does not mean that we should be lazy, or not seek to excel in what we do in life. No, it means we are called to do our best and be contented with our best.
One cannot be a leader and yet not be criticised. Nevertheless, may we heed Saint Paul's advice to Timothy: "Do not let people disregard you because you are young, but be an example to all the believers in the way you speak and behave, and in your love, your faith and your purity."
When we reflect on the seven sorrows of Mary, we wonder where she got the strength to carry all these pains in her heart. The answer lies in love. She carried her pain with the love of God in her heart. When there is love for God and for her fellowmen, including her enemies, she could accept the innocent and unjust suffering of her Son. She knew that the suffering she carried with her Son would not be carried in vain but for the greater good of humanity. So too, when we suffer, we should not suffer for ourselves but for others and for the salvation of souls. Because Jesus “submitted so humbly that his prayer was heard”, not in the sense that He was delivered from physical suffering but God gave Him the strength to obey His divine will. It was His obedience that saved us all. If we want to accept our crosses and submit humbly, we too must pray earnestly like our Lord, growing in intimacy with Him, feeling His love and presence in our lives. If we find difficulty in suffering, let us ask the Lord to give us the strength to love more, like our Blessed Mother.
Catholic education is not just for students, it is meant for all. It is an on-going process of being formed in the faith, and growing as holistic individuals. Whether in schools, church or at home, we need a Catholic ambience for individuals to personally encounter the love of Jesus.
When we discern whether a person is good or not, it must not just be based on what the person does now, but we need to observe the beginning, the middle and the end. It is constancy in the person’s words and actions that we come to know his character. Reputation is made in a few moments but character requires a whole life. This is why Jesus gave us an analogy of a tree because a tree needs time to grow before it can bear fruits. So when Jesus told us to judge by the fruits the tree produces, He was not simply asking us to judge the tangible facts we see, but whether such fruits are lasting. If a tree bears just a few fruits and dies, it means it is not a genuine tree.
The Lord knew that Paul was persecuting the Christians out of ignorance, but once enlightened, he would use the same zeal for the spread of the gospel. The conversion of St Paul would be an inspiration for everyone who are sinners and ignorant like him. If Christ could change St Paul so radically from a persecutor to a great apostle, He too can change and transform our lives, if only we allow Him. Indeed, Paul is our model in leadership, one who has gone through hard times, making foolish mistakes because of ignorance, but once enlightened and forgiven, became a true leader for Christ and for His people. As leaders we must acknowledge our blindness and turn to Christ.
If we can truly from our hearts claim that what we do is what God wants us to do, and that we are doing it in His name, and are able to praise and thank God for what we have done, then we should find peace in our moral decisions. However, if we cannot truly say from our hearts that what we are doing gives glory to God and inspires lives, brings true love in what we do, promotes peace and justice, then certainly what we do is not from God. The psalmist says, “Let everything that lives and that breathes give praise to the Lord.” We are called to praise Him not just with words, psalms and hymns but to praise Him with our lives. If we cannot praise Him in what we do, it is because “the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil.
While salvation is a gift from God, there is a part for man to play. Today, let us ask Our Lady for the same grace to co-operate with the will of God, with the role He has given us to exercise in the salvation of humanity and our own salvation.
In today's Gospel passage, we read of how Jesus related to a deaf man with compassion, sensitivity, and respect. Like Jesus, our model of evangelisation, we too are called to proclaim the Good News with such loving actions and touch.
Today’s gospel reading tells us that we need stability in our faith by finding strength in the authority of Christ. Relying on Jesus, we can be certain that what He says is true. Finding faith in our Lord is to recognize that we have been reconciled to God "by Christ's death in his mortal body.". Justification is the work of God in us. What is required on our part to be reconciled with God is to have faith in Him. Indeed, it is the hope of sharing in the resurrection of our Lord at the end of our pilgrimage, and inspired by the unconditional love Christ has given for us, we live no longer for ourselves but for Him and for our fellowmen. Our aim in life is not to serve ourselves but to serve others and to help others to find meaning and purpose in Christ. It is in the process of living out this life that gives us great joy and meaning. It is therefore our faith in Christ and our Hope in the resurrection that motivates us to live a life of holiness, purity and blamelessness. This is the reason the Church exhorts us to participate in the Sacrifice of the Mass, daily if possible, as it is a participation in the life that is to come. It is true that Christ has won salvation for us once and for all.
To call Christ the image of the invisible God, we are also reminded of our calling because in Genesis we are told that we are created in His image and likeness; which is Christ Himself. We are created to be the image of God and that is our calling. We are called to be children of God. Christ is the first-born in the sense that He holds the highest honour in creation. Jesus is therefore not just the perfect manifestation of God but also of man. In Him, we understand who we are and what we are called to be. The message of today is clear: Christ is all sufficient. There must be no compromise and adulteration of our faith in Christ. We must be true to our faith; true to what the Lord has revealed Himself to us.
To discover and do God's will, we need to pray for perfect wisdom and spiritual understanding. Only the Holy Spirit can enlighten our minds. When we are doing God's will, the fruits of the Spirit will be evident. We will carry out our duties and responsibilities joyfully even in the face of difficulties and opposition.
In the work of evangelization, we must reckon that people would come to faith in God in various ways, through preaching in faith, through the sharing of the gospel, through good works and works of mercy, or through the search for meaning and purpose beyond this life. Jesus did not just worship the Father, but after worship and prayer, He expressed His faith in His Father through works of mercy and healing. His capacity to love the people came from His intimacy with His Father. He drew strength and inspiration from the Father in His ministry.
We are called to accept and live out the laws in child-like faith, even though we might not fully understand or be utterly convinced by them. In time and on hindsight, we will personally discover the wisdom behind them. As we read in today's first reading: "Keep them, observe them, and they will demonstrate to the peoples your wisdom and understanding."
Making full use of our talents and working for the Kingdom not only benefits our recipients but also ourselves because God will grow our knowledge, talents and experience, and we are empowered to do more so that we will always be living to our optimum level. However, those who are afraid to take up the challenge to grow the gifts that God has given to them, will eventually stifle themselves to death. The only way to preserve our faith and our life is to proclaim and share the Good News with others, and to expend our lives for the service of others. In proclamation and in sharing, we are doubly enriched.
Unless we have deep faith in Jesus, it is difficult to live out the doctrines and moral teachings of the Scriptures. Falling in love with Jesus, believing in Him and accepting His Word is key.
The principle of arriving at our goal or destination is always to put the “last things first.” The Church tells us that the Last Things consist of death, judgment, hell and heaven. These are the four last things. Death is not the end but the prelude to judgment and hell or heaven. In today’s gospel, Jesus spoke of the responsibility of God’s servants. The parable today is addressed to the disciples of the Lord. That is why we must be prepared at all times. The failure to keep vigilant is the cause of irresponsibility in living our life in truth, in goodness and in righteousness. As servants of God, there is no rest; we must be found working at all times. It means doing good or simply being loving in whatever situation we are in. We are stewards of God’s grace and His people. How we manage ourselves and our people require accountability to the Lord. Today, we are called to imitate St Paul in his exemplary leadership in the first reading. His heart was always with the people. He shared their joy, their pain and their struggles. St Paul was always anxious for the people; he was always thinking of them, and when away from them, he would write to the churches to encourage them.
Unlike any other form of leadership in the world, a Christian leader is expected to not just do well in the ministry and produce results, such as conversion rates and increased membership, but he is expected to be a role model in the way he lives his life, and conducts his relationship with God and the community. The moral conduct of a religious leader is paramount in all that he does. Even if he were the most eloquent preacher, teacher, administrator, organizer, if his moral life is put in question, then everything collapses. All that he says or teaches would immediately be discredited. No one would believe in him anymore. Today the Lord is inviting us to exercise our leadership in such a way that people will take our word as God’s word. Our word and preaching can only change people provided they know that our hearts are sincere and we are truly trying to live the Gospel life.
Today, we are called to make a radical choice for God. There is no question of compromise. In the light of what God had done for them, Joshua said to all the people: "If you will not serve the Lord, choose today whom you wish to serve, whether the gods that your ancestors served beyond the river or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are now living. As for me and my House, we will serve the Lord." Jesus is asking us the same question He asked His apostles, "What about you, do you want to go away too?"
Today's Gospel passage reminds us that we have "only one master" and "one Teacher, the Christ". We are but servants of the Lord, representatives who are called to walk in humility and lead others to Him.
In many families, there are uneasy tensions between the daughter-in-law and mother-in-law, leading to resentment, competition and anger. Of course, we have many families where the daughter-in-law and the mother-in-law are great friends and confidante, regarding each other as mother and daughter. Whilst love and relationship take two hands to clap, the mother-in-law, being the elder, must take the initiative to make her daughter-in-law comfortable, loved, secure and accepted. When we are loving, caring and respectful of others, we too will be loved and accepted. We might not agree with them but we need to accept that we are different. But through our love and patience, they will one day come to meet the loving and living God in and through us.
Today's readings speak of commitments that are made and subsequently broken, resulting in serious consequences. In order to make our vows count, we need to deliberate and consider seriously, and make them freely.
Good leaders with integrity and wisdom, and most of all, with a genuine heart to serve the community are rare. Whether it is religious, political or corporate leadership, there is a dearth of good leaders with strong moral principles and selfless service. Political and religious office demands much sacrifices, not just in terms of privacy but often financially as well, especially if they conduct themselves with integrity. The ultimate reward of service is not about material payment for the work we do. It is not about our position and privileges of the office. The joy of a Christian who gives himself in service or in leadership is the joy of serving God and our fellowmen without conditions, and selflessly. When a service is given purely out of love, it is accepted with gratitude.
Since the beginning of time and of our Lord, the Church has been warned that the journey before her is one of persecution and opposition. There is this constant battle between truth and falsehood, love and selfishness. Today, because of relativism, falsehood and selfishness are often masqueraded as truth and love. What Satan wants is to destroy us all, first by leading us to hopelessness, meaninglessness, and utter selfishness so that we have no more purpose to live in this life as there is neither hope in this world or in the next. However, the Solemnity of the Assumption of Mary is a celebration of ultimate victory over evil, sin and death. In Mary, we see the hope given to us by Christ fulfilled in one of us. Notwithstanding the adversities and sufferings of this life, we are certain that after our exile on this world, we will share eternal life with our Lord and our Blessed Mother in heaven. We are confident of our final destiny. God will work in us, and manifest His mercy provided we fear Him, walk in His ways and be humble like Mary.
It is important for us not to reduce faith into a rationalistic faith. It is our personal relationship with God in prayer, and a belonging to a faith community, that makes the real difference.
When we have discussions on various issues, we need to go back to the very beginning - the foundations - to consider God's plan. We also need to consider our history, and build on the foundations that have been laid already. In this way, we know we are on sure ground.
People often lose sight of the wonders of God at work in their lives. We are constrained by our intellectual capacity to dream beyond what we can do. we literally walk by sight, by what we can see within human reasoning and not by faith. Today's scripture readings invite us to go beyond our human limitations to trust in the amazing works of God in our lives, and allow Him to act in and through us. But God's power can only work effectively for those who are available to Him. This call to holiness is also a constant call not just to Israel but also to us as well. It does not mean that God cannot work in people who are sinful, but our sins can impede the grace of God from flowing out of us. Our lack of devotion to God will delimit our faith in Him and in His grace and mercy.
While most leaders, when they finish their term of office, are given big farewells with much fanfare, long recitations of the good works they have done, and their achievements, Moses’ last days was modestly recorded. Indeed, seeing the Lord face to face was enough reward for Moses. He saw himself as a servant of God. He was a faithful servant right to the end. Despite all the great things he had done, he remained just a faithful servant of the Lord, which we all are. He did not want people to venerate him for fear that it would distract them from worshipping God alone. Can we dedicate our lives in faithful service to God just like Moses?
We must attend to the soul that is crying for the touch of God. When we have used up all our strength, and exhausted ourselves, our energy and resources, are tired and burnt-out, we need to find peace in God. We must withdraw, just as Elijah did to be alone with God in the wilderness. It is in the quiet of our hearts that God will speak to us deeply, not in the harried activities of life, not when we are full of anger, hatred, vindictiveness, fear and anxiety. By listening to Him attentively in the scriptures and receiving Him in Holy Communion, His Spirit will abide in us and give us the strength to walk in truth and charity.
To remember God's Word, we must first memorise some significant scripture texts so that they become part of our thinking. Secondly, we remember by teaching and sharing about Scriptures with others. Third, we remember by publicly witnessing our faith. The more we remember God's Word, the more our faith is strengthened.
It takes time to fully understand the meaning of mountain-top experiences. Like the apostles Peter, James and John who understood the Transfiguration event only after Jesus' resurrection, may we too be patient to what God is revealing to us through our religious experiences.
Quite often leaders do not only have to manage the affairs of the organization or the community they are leading, but they have their personal and domestic issues to contend with. And yet in public, they have to put on a brave front, act normally and not impose their pain or sadness on others but quietly carry the burden in their hearts. It is important that as leaders we do not take our frustrations out on those who are not responsible for our pains. This would be selfish and unreasonable. In today’s gospel, Jesus shows us the way to exercise patience as a leader. Before He could undertake His passion, He needed to find where they stood with regard to His identity. He gently led them to answer for themselves who He really was and not just what others thought of Him. Coming to understand Jesus’ identity and faith in Him itself is a grace of God and not our human effort. That is why we must be patient when those under us are behaving childishly, are unreasonable, ignorant or slow to understand and cooperate.
Today’s reading is an important lesson for us to learn as well because many of us are blind to what the Lord had done for us in the past and what He is doing for us in the present, and thus we do not surrender our future into His hands, and walk by faith, not by sight. If this God has met our needs in the past and our needs today, why do we doubt that He will provide for us tomorrow? This is why in the Lord’s Prayer, we are asked to pray for our daily bread, that is the bread for today because tomorrow, He will also provide just as He did for the sons of Israel when God told them to gather the manna enough for just the day, no more and no less. When there is faith in the Lord, we can overcome all odds. When we lack faith, we are depending only on our own strength and human calculation. We, too, can strengthen our faith and love for Jesus through prayers and intimacy with the Lord. Jesus was so moved by the faith of the Canaanite woman and love that He said to her, “Woman, you have great faith. Let your wish be granted". Can we be like the Canaanite woman and come to the Lord in faith with our prayers today?
When we do not rest in God's love, and allow Him to work in us, we become restless. We look for external things to fill our emptiness within. Greed and seeking the approval of others are some examples. May we seek God, the bread of life, the bread that lasts.
Sustenance of planet earth is not just about man’s relationship with the environment, with plants and animals. Ecology must also deal with right relationships among nations, peoples in each country and community, workers and employers; family and marriage. There is an unequal distribution of wealth and resources. On the family front, we do not protect the right relationship of family life and marriage. So what is destroying the planet would not just be the abuse of the environment but international and inter-human relationships. If we do not respect the ecology of creation, of the environment, nature will unleash its wrath on us all. If we do not respect God’s creation of human beings, as man and woman, called to be good stewards of God’s creation and to multiply, the world would become extinct as there would be fewer and fewer people left.
The liturgy is not static, but dynamic. What is important is that when we evolve our liturgy, it must be faithful to the theological meaning of the celebration. The Church wants to ensure we are always faithful to what we are celebrating. Let us thank God for all the rites that we have, which allow us to encounter God.
We live harried lives because of the demands that are made on us. The world moves rapidly with technology and so people have become more demanding of our time and the speed with which we accomplish the tasks assigned to us. This leaves us very little time for silence and prayer. Although we may not feel that prayer is a waste of time, yet we do not put it as a priority. We pray only when we can find some time. If we truly love God, that love is real only when we love our brothers and sisters. In order for us to love others unconditionally, we must first be loved totally and without reservation. But that someone who can love us without conditions is only God. Let us learn from Martha, how we can continue to grow in our faith, being active in love and balancing our life with a life of intimacy with the Lord.
As Christians, we are called to give glory to God by our lives, especially in our service to Church and society, beginning in our own homes. But many of us have lost the glory in us. We have not encountered Him personally, spoken to Him like a friend, basked in His love and presence. We have not spent time with the Lord sufficiently to allow Him to speak to our hearts and reveal His love and mercy for us. For those of us who are searching for an encounter with God, we must not give up until we have found Him. This search for the Lord is an ongoing reality. Unlike Moses, the glory of God tends to fade in our lives after a while because we are forgetful. By hiding the treasure from us, God wants us to pay the price, like the man and the merchant who sold everything to buy it. Can we constantly search out for God in the way He searches out for us?
The greatest miracle of Jesus anticipated in the multiplication of loaves is the Eucharist, His body and blood that He would be giving to His disciples at His death so that our lives would be transformed into His when we eat His body and drink His blood. More than just physical and material food, Jesus quenches our thirst and satisfies our hunger for God, for life and for love. For us Christians, we do not keep the Eucharist, the Word of God and Jesus to ourselves but we are called to share with others who are hungering for authentic life and love, truth and meaning. We are called to evangelize by breaking bread for others either by proclaiming the Good News in words or offering our lives in service for the poor and the suffering.
Our life is a constant struggle against sin and the temptation of the Evil One.Sometimes we will overcome the temptation to sin, sometimes we will succumb. But whenever we fail, the Lord understands us. He knows how weak we are. He showed the same compassion for Peter and the apostles. However, judgement will come. Of course, God does not judge us based on one single act in our life. God takes into consideration all the things we had done or failed to do, good or evil, grave or just serious, the circumstances we were in, the intentions we have in our hearts.
When observed in a legalistic manner, the laws and Commandments can enslave us. However, laws are actually meant to protect true freedom. They are principles for right living, so we will not be enslaved to our fears and passions.
Like the reading from the book of Song of Songs, can we truly say that ‘Jesus is the One whom my heart loves’? The truth is that we love our friends, our spouse, our children more than we love Jesus. We would even give up our faith in Christ just to marry someone whom we love, especially when the person is of another faith. We would sacrifice our prayer life, our time for prayers and worship, for our loved ones or even for social entertainment. Or else we put our work and ambition before our Lord. Like Mary Magdalene, we too must come to know Jesus personally so that when we hear Him calling us by name, our love for Him and conviction of His resurrection will be strengthened. Hence, we must ask ourselves, is He the One whom my heart loves?
When things go wrong, we lament the good old days. We forget the sufferings that we had then, and the complaints we made. We never learn our lessons. We are just escapists. Instead of looking at ourselves, we find scapegoats for our sins. Those of us who are in leadership will know that we please no one. No matter what we do, we will displease them. No matter what we provide for them, it will never be enough. Instead of gratitude, we only receive complaints and back-biting and slander. We can only leave it to the grace of God after doing all we are supposed to do, which is to continue sowing the seeds of truth, love and grace. While we may not see the full impact of what we do on everyone, but other than those few whiners, discontented people and ingrates, most are quietly grateful to us without letting us know. But God knows!
Jesus, our Good Shepherd, offers us a model of leadership: a clear vision of uniting people into the family of God, a heart of compassion, and a spirit of self-sacrifice. He also demonstrated integrity, and was rooted in prayer. What do we need to do to be leaders like Him today?
The scripture readings today offer us some food for thought on patience as the key to winning victory in battles. Jesus was very much aware that He was not yet ready to fight a direct battle with the religious leaders as His mission would be short-circuited. Even in calling sinners to repentance, Jesus was not harsh with them. He did not condemn them or humiliate them before others. Rather, His approach to sinners was one of patience, gentleness and sensitivity. He assessed the person and the situation and applied the right action and approach. Each one is handled differently, according to his or her needs. Jesus came to give hope by encouraging and affirming that we are loved by God and forgiven by Him.
Jesus was concerned more about the spirit of the Law. That true spirit is captured in Hosea's words: "What I want is mercy, not sacrifice." And so, ethical consideration and charity take precedence over any ritual laws. After all, what God desires of us is kindness and compassion.
Confident of our Lord who is the revelation of God in person, the revealer, the Lord invites us, “Come to me, all you who labour and are overburdened, and I will give you rest. Shoulder my yoke and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Yes, my yoke is easy and my burden light.” When we know the love of God for us, we will be able to carry the yoke with Jesus for the love of God and humanity. When we are assured of God’s love and share in His knowledge and will, even though the journey might be difficult and the demands of love is trying, we will be able to overcome all our enemies as Moses did, not with our own strength but the strength that comes from Him, and especially His love that will support us. So let us come to the Lord, bask in His love and enlightened by His word.
A leader without faith cannot lead his people. We cannot accomplish the work of God by our own strength and our own ingenuity. The account of Moses’ call today makes it clear that God’s sovereign grace triumphs over man’s inadequacy and mistakes. God uses ordinary people like us, just as Jesus in the gospel chose ordinary fishermen to be His apostles. God would use our broken history and failures to prepare us from ministry. What is critical for us to be firm in our faith and in our mission is when we know God more and more intimately. When we know that God is with us in this journey, then we will not fear the future. We will have confidence that somehow, He will show us the way.
Like the apostles and the prophet Amos, we are called to go beyond our comfort zones and respond to what calls us to. When we give ourselves to God - our weaknesses included - we will experience the power of God working in us.
Quite often forgiveness is never complete, not so much because our sins or mistakes have not been forgiven. Rather, it is the inability on the part of the sinner to receive that forgiveness because of the lack of faith and trust. Even though the Confessor on behalf of God has forgiven the sins of the penitent during the Sacrament of Reconciliation, the penitent only hears the words of forgiveness but does not truly believe it in his or her heart. As a consequence, no real healing takes place and the person remains wounded, fearful and unforgiven.
When sending the apostles out on mission, Jesus forewarned them about the trials they would face. Persecutions would come from four main groups of people, namely, the State, businesses, their own people, and their family members. These are the same groups of people that continue to persecute the Church today. How can we stand firm in the face of persecution?
Whenever we think of the suffering and shame we endured due to betrayals and injustices, we feel angry. At the same time, we know that unless there is closure, especially with our loved ones who have hurt us deeply, we will have no peace. Forgiving is not easy, but it will be made much easier when we know that the person has learnt from his mistakes and will not cause harm to others as they did to us. At least we know that we have not suffered in vain. Indeed, when we come to realize that our suffering is not in vain, we will be able to not just reconcile with our trials, hurts and injustices but to see them in the bigger plan of God for humanity.All our sufferings in life, or the events that happened to us, are within the knowledge of God.
The gospel is not about building churches and establishing our mini-kingdoms. It is about mission beyond our churches. Evangelization requires direction and strategy, otherwise we will fail in our mission. Of course, at the end of the day, we must be led by the Holy Spirit who is the sole agent of conversion and mission. We must also know our limitations so that we can direct our energy to something that is achievable. The larger mission will be fulfilled if we strategize and focus on what we need to do now.
The world measures success by Key Performance Indicators. It is concerned with tangible results, which are externally observable. On the contrary, success in God’s eyes is measured by our fidelity to Him. Today's readings feature 3 characters - Ezekiel, St Paul and our Lord. They, while in the eyes of the world were seen as failures, are successes in God's eyes. They were faithful and obedient to the very end of their lives, leaving the Holy Spirit to bring about fruits for God's glory.
God is patient with us in our growth in faith. There is a dynamism in spiritual growth. We must not forget that our faith in God, just like any relationship, is dynamic. Some days it grows, other days, relatively stagnant and at times, we retrogress. Our faith moves up and down, high and low. Faith is not something we secure once and for all, just like any relationship. This same faith in Jesus as the Son of the Living God as transmitted to us by the apostles and his successors, is what we must hold today. In believing Jesus as the Son of the Living God, we will enter into His promises for us. Hence, we must learn from the mistake of Thomas, never to seek growth in our faith without the Church.
Miracles happen every day. If we walk by faith and not by sight, we will see them in little ways such as words of kindness and encouragement, and thoughtful actions. The biggest miracle of all, though, is conversion of hearts. How can we bring miracles to people today?
Faith, like trust, takes time to build up. It is said that faith increases when we exercise it through the trials of life. In today’s readings, Abraham passed the ultimate test of surrendering his entire life and all that he cherished to the Lord, which was his only son, Isaac. This was the ultimate act of faith for Abraham, even to not withhold his only son from the Lord. This foreshadowed the death of God’s only Son as the substitution for the salvation of the world. What God did not demand of Abraham, He demanded of Himself. Isaac foreshadowed Jesus as “the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world”, as John the Baptist proclaimed.
Many of our sufferings are due to ignorance and sin because of selfishness and fear. We cause suffering not just to ourselves but to our loved ones as well, and those who have been good to us. Yet in all these mistakes of ours, God is truly kind and merciful. He tries to salvage the situation and render justice to all parties. God is gracious and seeks to help us to adjust to life and use our mistakes as graces. Faith, in the final analysis, is an act of the will and not of the mind. One can see the miracles and power of God and yet not believe. One can know God and yet not believe.
Today's readings reveal that God wants us to share in His life and love forever. To find life and healing, we need to have faith in Jesus. We grow our faith by constantly curbing our pride and recognising our need for Him, as well as being courageous and patient.
There are many non-Catholics who believe that our God can heal and many of them when being prayed over, surrender themselves in faith. It is our Catholics that lack faith in miracles and in the power of healing. Many, instead of turning to Jesus, turn to other religions and faith healers or New Age healing. Even though they are supposed to have faith in Jesus, their lives contradict what they believe. Yet, it must be said that faith is not just about trusting in God or in Jesus. This faith must be concretely manifested in our works of charity. God always hears the cry of the poor and the just, as the psalmist often tells us.
For us Christians, baptism is a gift from God. In our sinful situation, like the leper in today’s gospel, we can do nothing to redeem ourselves. Very few can claim to have absolute faith in God when they were baptized. Faith is a growing reality. It is not something we possess once and for all, or something that cannot grow further. Faith remains a free gift from God. He can work in us in ways beyond our imagination. Faith is a gift and also a task. God is the one who takes the initiative to reach out to us and we respond accordingly in faith.
Today, we live in a very secularized society where there are no values, no objectivity in truth, a society that lives only for itself and for today. Yet, today’s scripture readings on the Birthday of John the Baptist assure us that the divine plan of God would remain in place. Each of us in our own way are called to fulfill the place and role that God has assigned to us in His plan of salvation. While things seem hopeless and futile, we are called to simply do our part. Like Zechariah, Elizabeth and John the Baptist, can we entrust our lives to Him and simply cooperate with His inexorable plan for our salvation?
Many things in life are not as clear as we think they are. Life can be very complicated. Nevertheless, in all discernment, we must always look for the lasting fruits of the Spirit. The shield of love of the Holy Spirit will protect us from falling into the traps of the wolves around us. But the shield of love must be supplemented by the shield of faith. Without faith, we would not be able to persevere when love demands self-sacrifice and generosity.
Today's Gospel passage illustrates how we can lack faith - not in God's power and authority - but in His immense love for us. As that fear of being unloved by God increases, our faith will slacken. To overcome this fear, we need to be convicted of who He is to us, time and time again. We can do this in prayer, when we enjoy intimacy with the Lord.
God’s strength is always seen in our weakness. When people see us as great sinners or incompetent for our ministry but with God’s power at work in and with us, we teach and preach with courage and conviction, then they know it is truly the work of God and not just the work of man. In today’s gospel, He told His disciples not to rely on money and the things of this world to find security. Our security must be found in God alone. All that is required is faith in Him and in His heavenly Father.
We must take our Lord's admonition seriously: “where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” What are the eternal values we seek in our life? What will continue even after our death? We are called to imitate St Paul who understood that what ultimately lasts are the sacrifices of love and service to God and to our fellowmen. How we have shown love and related to others will remain and be remembered.
In the face of criticism and opposition to his ministry in Corinth, St Paul found himself having to defend his authority as an apostle. He did this by showing the sincerity of his love for the Christians. His intentions were pure, not so much to get the people’s support for him but to ensure that they remained faithful to Christ as His spouse. He preached with conviction from his personal encounter with the Lord, and did so for free. How can we purify our serving God today?
The scripture readings today speak of the reward that comes with giving of ourselves to others; the reward is a foretaste of heaven, as we share in His life of joy, peace, love and true freedom. How can we purify the intentions of our giving today?
A Christian therefore lives from the future, which is already given to us in Christ’s death and resurrection. It is this future life that determines how he lives today. As Paul said, “whether we are living in the body or exiled from it, we are intent on pleasing him.” When we love the Lord and when we desire to be in full union with Him, we seek to please Him here and now by living the kind of life that He has taught us. Until we reach the end, our spiritual life will be a process whereby we cooperate with the grace of God.
What do we mean when we say that Mary’s heart is immaculate?When we say someone is immaculate we mean that someone is pure and impeccable in virtues and in holiness. Hence, being a sinner is to live less than an authentic human life. Mary’s immaculate heart shows us what an authentic life should be. She is the model of holiness and how we must live our life to find true happiness and peace. She was forgiving like her Son. Even with wicked and sinful people, her heart remained pure, forgiving and understanding. She just stood underneath the cross and wept. Can we imitate our Blessed Mother in our way of living?
If love is the heart of Christianity, it also means that our mission is essentially one of tender love, mercy and forgiveness as well. The work of evangelization is not about proselytism or getting new converts. Rather, it is to mediate the unconditional and unimaginable love of God for the world. The message of the gospel is about love and mercy. It is also important that the proclamation of God’s love and mercy in words and deeds presupposes that we are captivated by the love and mercy of God. Can we contemplate on His love and mercy so that we can bring His love to others?
We who are made in the image and likeness of God should be reflecting His glory in our life. Yet we know that we have lost His likeness because of sin. Today’s gospel text deals with the first common sin in humanity: anger. When sown in our heart, anger can be expressed in contemptuous words and sarcasm. Anger does not only hurt our enemies and destroy them, it ultimately destroys our own selves. It is best that we settle our misunderstandings and hurts before they become unmanageable.
The Mosaic Law gave the principles of how each one was to conduct himself so that the community would live in peace, harmony and security. But whilst good, the law did not give one the power to fulfill them. Just because we know what is right and wrong, does not mean that we can do it. But the new covenant that Jesus came to bring is not based on the Law. It is a relationship of love between God and man. God does not seek to change us by using the laws but to heal our hearts and minds by His love and mercy. Not only do we know what the laws are, but we have the capacity that comes from the love of God in us to obey the law. Truly, the motivation for love must come from the fact of God’s love in us. Without Him loving us, we cannot love truly. Our love for God and of our neighbours must not be given out of obligation but out of gratitude for the love that we have received from Him.
The common thread in today's scripture readings is the shedding of blood, as a sacrificial offering. The difference is that the sacrifice of Christ is a perfect one for our salvation. Why? Because Christ was not just the priest but an unblemished victim of the sacrifice. Furthermore, His sacrifice was voluntary and given for humanity purely out of love for us. So great and efficacious was His sacrifice, that the Church continues to make the effects of it known through the celebration of the Eucharist, that we may be in Communion with Him.
In today’s gospel, Jesus gave us all a model, an exemplar of what it means to love God through the widow who gave form the little that she had. In giving whatever little she had, she showed her deep faith in God and her undivided and loyal love for Him. Her giving was not to replace faith. Indeed, good works cannot substitute faith. Rather, her giving of everything she had to the Temple treasury was an expression of her faith in God that He would provide. Otherwise, she would have kept the coins for her own upkeep and food. She knew that everything came from God and therefore everything belonged to Him. If we truly love God, then can we make our almsgiving the sign of that love?
Our perception of God is often limited by our world view, presuppositions and lack of faith in His wisdom. We tend to reduce God to our level and make Him think the way we do. Isaiah wrote, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isa 55:8f) Indeed, only God sees everything. Today's scripture readings invite us to be courageous. Like Tobit and Sarah, may we persevere in faith and see things the way God sees.
In today's Gospel passage, Jesus ingeniously enlightened the scribe on what was most fundamental in the law. If there was only one word, it is love. St Paul and St Augustine said similar things, that love is the fulfillment of the law. That said, the commandment to love God with our entire being must be expressed in our love for our neighbours. What implications does it have for us Christians in our relationship with non-Christians, people of other faiths and even atheists and agnostics? St Augustine sums up so aptly when he wrote, “Let us not ask how much love we ought to spend upon our brother and how much upon God: incomparably more upon God than upon ourselves, but upon our brother as much as upon ourselves; and we love ourselves more, the more we love God. Therefore we love God and our neighbour from one and the same love; but we love God for his own sake, and ourselves and our neighbors for the sake of God.”
The question of faith in the immortality of the soul and the resurrection of the body is critical to how we live our life today. Indeed, if we do not have faith in the immortality of the soul and the resurrection, it has an impact on our ethical life. When we do not have faith in an after-life, it is more difficult to tell someone to make sacrifices, deny himself, and suffer for the greater good of others.
If we are created in the image and likeness of God and share in Christ’s sonship, our relationships with God and our fellow men cannot be one of isolation and alienation. We are called to relate to God in a personal way. It also means that if we were to find fulfillment and meaning in life, we must be like the Holy Trinity, to live for each other, with each other, in each other and by each other. There is no other way to find meaning in life unless we are conscious of our individuality like the three persons, distinct from others, and yet at the same time, such individuality does not make us separated from others.
In the final analysis, the authority that comes from God is not just by appointment to an office or through study and research in the world of academia, but a personal authority, which could encompass both legitimate appointment and intellectual competency. But we cannot restrict authority to a mere exercise of an office or claim to intellectual reliability. It must be seen in our life, in our way of teaching, doing and living. This is true wisdom, as Sirach wrote in today’s first reading. Wisdom is not just knowing the truth but to walk a straight path and to put into practice what is good, which is summed up in the perfection of the Law. Can we then live our lives in a way that can gain respect and acceptance of others?
Not all of us leave a legacy behind when we leave this world. Indeed, this is tragic because it means that we have not lived a fruitful life. We have not made this world a better place when we leave. More tragic still if we have caused the world to be in a worse shape than before we were born. Truly we are all called to be fruitful. People will not remember us for our achievements and our successes. But they will remember how we have touched them, helped them when they were down and out, when we were there for them when they needed help most, when we have made a difference in their lives and they are what they are today because we have been there for them. So to ensure that we are living a life of wisdom, truth and charity, we must pray with faith and total receptivity to His will. Can we then pray with faith and live a virtuous life in order to allow God to make us fruitful?
Many of us claim to know Jesus and have seen Him, and yet in truth we have not. We are, as the gospel says, blind disciples of Christ. We cannot see Jesus because we do not seek Jesus. We are not clear why we want to follow Jesus. Jesus asked Bartimaeus, “What do you want me to do for you?” This is the question we need to ask ourselves sincerely. For the blind man, that question of our Lord seems redundant. But in truth it was not. Why did he want to see? Was he ready to pay the price of recovering his eyesight? When we are blind or sick, we can depend on others to look after us. But once we are well, we need to rely on ourselves and even to be of service to others. The question “What do you want me to do for you?” requires an honest and a definite answer. What is ours today?
What does it mean to celebrate the 200th Pentecost in Singapore? Although the Church has grown in number, most members have not grown in depth in their love for God. Indeed, something is missing in the lives of many baptised Catholics. More than ever, we need to be reignited in the power of the Holy Spirit. We need to receive the Holy Spirit anew, like the early Christians in the Acts of the Apostles, before we can shine in society and in the world. When the Holy Spirit descends on us, we will be lighted by the fire of love and truth. How can I reignite my faith through the renewal and love of the Holy Spirit?
To speak of hope is to have a vision for the future. We might be tempted to give up because we have so many constraints in the work of evangelisation as society seeks to marginalise Christianity and religions from public space. We must do what Paul did, which was to do what he could. He never complained about the situation he was in. He would work and proclaim the gospel within the constraints he was in. So too, whether it is the secular world or the limitations imposed by Covid-19, we must be resourceful and creative in proclaiming the gospel to the ends of the earth. We can do this only if we keep our hope alive, our vision of a new heaven and a new earth. We must follow the example of Peter and John in testifying to the Lord in God’s way. Can we thus follow in their footsteps to proclaim hope to humanity?
In today's Gospel passage, Jesus asks Simon Peter three times whether he loves Him. This process of asking was both redeeming (for the three times Simon Peter denied Him prior), and purifying. Like Peter, we too are asked if we really love the Lord with all our heart, mind and soul. If we do, then we should not be too preoccupied with success and achievements. Loving the Lord should come first, before any doing or service. It is a humble love, expressed in obedience. What is our response to Jesus when he asks us today, "Do you love me?"
Sometimes when we look back at the decisions we have taken, we wonder whether they were the best and right decisions, or whether our judgements were flawed. In today's first reading, we see the shortcomings of St Paul in his trial before the Sanhedrin. Nevertheless, human mistakes will not hinder the divine plan of God being fulfilled. As we read in Romans 8:28, “we know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.” Even when we think of the division of the Church, we see that God works in ways beyond our understanding. Today, many are touched by God and by the gospel differently in different traditions, whether they are Catholics, evangelicals or main-stream churches. Can we entrust all our decisions into God's hands, knowing He can make all things work together for our good?
If the Church is in disarray today, it is simply because we have failed to take heed of the advice of St Paul to be on guard for ourselves as leaders of the Church. We must have a deep relationship with the Lord, spending time with Him just as our Lord spent time with His Father in close intimacy when He was on earth. Can we follow the example of St Paul by living a holy and exemplary life in truth and in charity, in total giving of ourselves entirely to the People of God and for the glory of our heavenly Father?
The theme, "Come and See" means that we ourselves must first be witnesses of Christ, of His resurrection, which is the first condition for the apostolic ministry. The capacity to be effective communicators of truth and love presupposes that we are immersed in the Word and are consecrated to Jesus. We must know the gospel and our doctrines well, so that we can give a reasonable account for what we believe (2 Pt 3:16). Thirdly, to "Come and See", means that communicators must be in the world, to have first-hand knowledge of the situation. Effective communicators do not just sit in an arm-chair and write. They must be with the people as Jesus was, living in their midst, carrying their infirmities, their pains, their frustrations and their sins in His body.
When we have not encountered the Holy Spirit personally, our witnessing tends to be on the level of intellectual conviction which can change quite easily in the face of harsh realities, trials and challenges in life. Quite often, we find such people so active in church one day, but within a few months they have changed their religion or given up the faith or active involvement in the church. The way to ignite our faith and make it truly come alive is to be baptized in the Holy Spirit. But baptism in the Holy Spirit is more than just being prayed over or be baptized. As we await the Feast of Pentecost, can we spend some time with the disciples at the Upper Room, praying as we wait for the descent of the Holy Spirit anew?
After going through the external forum of assessing a candidate for a leader, we must find the internal forum, for our discernment cannot be merely on the external qualities alone. That was why they prayed and trusting in Jesus, drew lots asking Jesus to make the choice known. This would mean in today’s terms, after all the deliberation and prayer, each one must vote from his or her heart to see which one should be chosen for the office. Yet, this is still not enough for a person to begin his office. He needs the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. Without such empowerment, the witnessing would be ineffective because all witnessing must be carried out under the authority of the Holy Spirit. Can we, as leaders of our communities, allow the Holy Spirit to guide us in our ministry?
In today’s gospel, the Lord said to the apostles, "Go throughout the whole world and preach the gospel to all mankind. Whoever believes and is baptised will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned.” Like the disciples, the Lord has chosen us not for ourselves but for mission. We must be clear what this mission is: to continue the mission started by Christ in extending the Kingdom of God by having everyone under the rule of the gospel, the love of God.
To fulfill this mission, we need to: (i) pray and be empowered by the Holy Spirit, (ii) be in communion with one another and the Church, and (iii) undertake on-going formation. What step do we - you and I - need to take today to be mission-ready?
Deep in the heart of every man, man is looking for fulfillment, meaning and purpose. All of us seek love, truth and meaning, besides comfort for our body as well. This is because we are made of body and spirit. Unless the Spirit of truth enlightens our minds and touches our hearts, no amount of reasoning can lead a person to find faith in Christ. How can we allow God’s Spirit to touch our hearts so that we can find faith in Christ?
The foundation of Christian love is the prior love of God given to us in Christ Jesus. Christian love, unlike that of the world, does not originate from the human person but from God Himself. It is our experience of God’s unconditional love and mercy for us that gives us the capacity to imitate Him in loving one another, including our enemies. Is my love exclusive, or do I share it generously with others?
Being a Christian is to follow Christ, which means, to take up our cross daily and follow after Him. In today’s gospel, Jesus in no uncertain terms warned His disciples, “if they persecuted me, they will persecute you too.” Indeed, we will face trials, opposition and persecution from within and from without. As Christians, we do not belong to this world. The world in this sense means the worldly values and individualistic and materialistic trends of society. This is why the world hates us because we are not one with the worldly values of society. How can we continue to witness to Christ in the face of persecution today?
Very often many who are engaged in the ministry cannot sustain their programs or their mission; they start well with great enthusiasm, but such excitement and euphoria do not last. Whilst all the disciples loved Jesus and had the common desire to bear fruits for the Lord’s vineyard by bringing more disciples to the Faith, yet between the Jewish Christians and the Gentile Christians there were tensions. But it was their love for each other that prevented the communities from going their separate ways. Their love for each other is seen in the way they were willing to compromise and accommodate each other’s sensitivities. How can we show love to others in our communities today, in order to bear lasting fruits?
To find complete joy, our joy must be that of Jesus’. His great joy was to be one with the Father in everything, as a beloved Son desiring to give glory to His Father. His first secret was to bask in the love of the Father. The second secret of Jesus’ joy was to pour out the joy that He received from His Father to us; “As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you.” How can we imitate His example, and so experience true joy ourselves?
To remain in the True Vine of course means to be in union with our Lord. It means to let His Word live in us, that we share His mind and His heart. It is only when we allow His word to live in us, that we can dwell in Him. We must be founded on the Word of God. If we want to remain in the Vine, we must also listen to the Magisterium; the Pope and his college of Bishops. At the end of the day, the fruits of communion: of love, joy and unity, is the sure sign that God is with us and we are with Christ, the True Vine. How can we remain connected to Jesus the True Vine by our actions?
When the Lord called Saul, it was not simply for his salvation but he was called to be the apostle to the Gentiles. This was true as well for all the apostles called by the Lord - all of them were called to be fishers of men. Similarly, we are called not just for ourselves but we are called for others. The only way to save ourselves is to save others with us. The best way to grow in faith is to evangelise others, for by sharing our faith with others, our understanding of our faith is crystallised and reinforced. How can we be His fruitful witnesses?
Today, we are called to be the Sacrament of Jesus in the world, just as Jesus was the Sacrament of the Father. So that when people see us, they will come to know Jesus. But we must be like St Paul, be courageous and proclaim Jesus explicitly, as the Son of God. Unfortunately, many Catholics do not dare to proclaim Jesus as the Son of God. Although they are willing to take part in humanitarian works, they do not proclaim Jesus as the Messiah, as the Saviour. Can we, then, by our words and actions, be the Sacrament of Jesus by expressing God’s love for them so that they can look beyond the material gifts they receive to faith in Jesus so that they can find fullness of life.
Like the disciples after Jesus' death, our hearts can be troubled when we lose a loved one. Faith in Jesus and His promises to us though, can give us confidence in our journey. We can be consoled with the knowledge of our definite future: being in the Father's house in heaven when we return to the Lord. We can also be consoled knowing that when our hearts are united with Jesus here on earth, we too can experience heaven here. How can we live with greater confidence and conviction of our Lord's promises to us?
Sometimes, we see that what is happening in the world or in our lives is beyond our control. Things fail, the planet is under threat, families and marriages are going to the dogs, the culture of death is promoted... but even in all of these, let us remember that God is in charge of this world. He is faithful to us regardless of the situation we are in. God’s grace will prevail at the end. Let us do our best to proclaim and live the gospel in our lives. The rest, we leave into the hands of God.
Evangelisation requires us to sow the seeds of faith. But unless our Catholics grow in discipleship, we cannot speak of evangelisation or mission as they would not be ignited or filled with the Holy Spirit enough to desire to bring the gospel to others. We cannot be an evangelising Church, unless we take discipleship seriously. For the Church to grow, we need to have a desire to reach out and spread the Good News to all if we have a vibrant faith, connected with the universal Church, a Church that prays and fasts, a Church that nurtures and is being formed all the time, and a Church that reaches out to all regardless of race and culture. How can we by our actions grow in discipleship in order to build an evangelising, vibrant and missionary Church?
A true shepherd is one who lays down his life willingly for his sheep. Today, as we celebrate Good Shepherd Sunday, all of us, priests, religious, lay leaders and corporate leaders are all called to be shepherds after His own heart. In a special way, we need to pray for more holy and dedicated priests to serve the shepherds of God in the market place. Unless we form our laity and imbue them with faith and the gospel values, the world will be deprived of good shepherds. Consequently, society will be ruined and there will be division and disorder in society.
How can we be good shepherds ourselves, and raise up other good shepherds?
We are all called to be God’s healing hands and mouthpiece. The effectiveness of healing is also dependent on whether the healer is one with God in his life, words and deeds. It is the Lord who heals and the Lord who heals through us. In all the healing miracles of our Lord, as in the case of the paralytic, physical healing is but the expression of spiritual healing and faith of those who asked for help. Can we, in all that we do and say, express our faith in the Lord and allow Him to use us as healers in our world today?
When we receive a deep encounter of the Lord, we are always given a mission. God does not just grace us with a deep religious encounter with Him but He has a mission for each one of us. After a religious experience, we must discern the call of God. Like St Paul, can we, after a deep religious experience discern what God is calling us to do for His Church and for the world?
Mass evangelising is one way to announce the Good News. We use this method when we hold mass rally, worship services, outreach programs, exhibitions, mass retreats and seminars and today, with on-line preaching and masses. But mass evangelising cannot replace personal evangelising.
In today's first reading, we see Philip personally reaching out to the Ethiopian Eunuch. Philip was able to do this because he was in touch with the Holy Spirit. Philip was also able to meet the Eunuch where he was, and explain the scriptures to him. How can we imitate Philip's example in our lives?
Our faith is tested when we are challenged. How often have our Catholics been persuaded to join other Christian churches when challenged in their faith, because they know so little of their faith and so are easily shaken and won over. Even the scandals in the Church apparently weakened her credibility, but in truth, these are the instruments that God uses to purify the Church, the hierarchy, and the laity, by forcing us to renew our structures, our ways of formation, of outreach and worship as well. So long as we are not ready to change, the Church will continue to diminish, which might be good in the long run because we will have only the remnants of true believers in Christ to start all over again to build a true Church where we are all living stones in Christ. Can we allow ourselves to suffer for the sake of evangelisation?
Most of us who encounter a tragedy, such as discovery of a terminal illness, an accident or retrenchment from our job, would ask, “why me?” It is natural for us to want to make sense of our suffering. Even though we might never understand why we have to suffer, yet, we can at least situate suffering in the context of God’s plan for the salvation of humanity.
The death of Jesus was God’s plan to bring about a greater good for humanity. Jesus’ death and resurrection were God’s way to show His infinite and unconditional love for humanity so that we will be moved to awareness of our sins and open ourselves to receive His forgiveness. Through Christ’s innocent suffering, people would be converted because of the love of God shown in His passion. How can we let go and integrate our suffering within the bigger picture of the plan of God?
If we spend more time talking about structures and administration of our parish and dioceses, rather than on how we can grow the mission and extend the gospel, we are on the wrong track. Our focus needs to always be on the greater good of the mission. All structures must change to meet the challenges that lie ahead of us. How can we, by our actions, respond and support such changes instead of maintaining the status quo?
The individualistic, materialistic and relativistic values of the world are in contradiction to the gospel that Christ teaches. Not just the world but even our own believers are subscribing to the secular values of the world, destroying marriage and family life, promoting the culture of death and leading the world into ecological disaster, besides the military, technological and space wars among countries.
In the face of trials and struggles against a hostile secularism and an amoral world, we need to hold fast in faith to the Lord who is with us. Can we, by our actions, allow the Lord to take charge and calm the storm?
Just as there is a right to civil disobedience, there is also a right to religious disobedience. How, then, do we handle civil and religious disobedience? Right from the outset, we must state clearly that there are valid grounds for civil and religious obedience. This is particularly so when the legitimate authority is not acting for the common good, or when there is an illegitimate authority imposing their will and power over others. When civil or religious authority is corrupt or serving their self-interests and not for the common good or legalizing immoral laws that go against the conscience of the individual, there is a right to disobey. How, then, can we be sure that that we are walking in the truth?
Just as God raised Jesus from the dead and freed Him from the pangs of death and decay, God too will raise us up if we continue to stand up for the culture of life and most of all, for eternal life which is the basis of our Christian Hope. How can we, then, challenge ourselves to continue to proclaim the truth, even if we are persecuted; to bring life, true love and freedom to our brothers and sisters?
We must identify with the Crucified Christ in His suffering Church and in humanity. This is why we need to practice mercy in our lives from the mercy we have received from Christ. This is the reason for celebrating Divine Mercy so that we can show ourselves to be merciful and forgiving towards those who have offended us or have failed in their lives. Can we do as the Lord told Thomas, to put our finger into the body of the suffering Church, to identify ourselves with the feelings of the people, their anxieties, pains and struggles?
Why were the disciples reluctant to believe in the resurrection of their master when the Lord had been forewarning them and hinting to them about His passion and resurrection? If the disciples who had walked with the Lord for the last three years themselves were incredulous and cynical in believing the good news of the resurrection of our Lord, what can we expect from those who had no personal knowledge of Him? Can we excuse ourselves for not believing since we had no direct encounter with the Risen Lord? How, then, do we surrender in belief to the testimonies of those who had seen the Lord?
Many of us give up easily in witnessing for Christ or serving Him when we are opposed and challenged. But sometimes we give up our mission and ministry because of the mistakes and follies we have committed. Many of us cannot forgive ourselves for the mistakes we have made, and the sins we have committed. How can we release forgiveness onto ourselves, just as God is ever-ready to forgive and heal us?
Our faith in Christ is well founded not just in continuity with the Old Testament but strengthened by His death and resurrection. Faith in Christ is all that is required to find salvation. We must strengthen our faith by reading the Bible so that we can appreciate the beauty of God’s plan of salvation in Christ. Will we, then, make this act of faith?
Like the two disciples of our Lord in today's readings, all of us have experienced disillusionments in life. All of us have been downcast, crippled by life’s events. In such situations, how can we recover our lost hope in life and in God? Firstly, we need to talk about our pains to our friends. The second step involves seeking direction from a wise and holy person, and of course from our Lord Himself. Thirdly, we must go back to the scriptures to remind us of God’s plan for humanity. Fourth, there is no better place to encounter the Lord than in the Eucharist, for there He is present to us sacramentally in the breaking of the bread and in our fellow brothers and sisters. Finally, when our vision and hope are restored, we must go back to our vision and share with everyone, this time with passion, enthusiasm and faith.
As we celebrate Easter Vigil, we also participate in Jesus' resurrection. The resurrection is not something of the past but continues to happen when we allow Christ to transform the world through us. All we need to do is to hold on to Jesus and experience the power of His resurrection. By ourselves, we are weak but with Him, we will be strong enough to change the world, to enlighten the world, give hope to humanity and change hatred to love, self-centeredness to service, and love to our brothers and sisters. How can we allow the Risen Lord to enter our hearts today?
We are on trial today, just like Peter and the apostles, the Chief priests, Pilate and the Jews. Are we like them, evasive of the truth, unwilling to stand up for our beliefs, running away like the apostles when we are called to stand up for what we believe? Indeed, like Pilate and the apostles, we have no guts to do the right thing. Surely, we are all guilty in different ways as we stand before our Lord who is supposedly on trial. What can we do to show by our actions that He is our true King and our judge?
What we celebrate on Maundy Thursday must lead us to a deeper contemplation of His sacrificial death of us, His unconditional love and mercy on Good Friday. It is the Church’s desire that by contemplating on His love and mercy, we will be motivated to give ourselves in charity, especially in forgiveness of our brothers and sisters. How should we then imitate Jesus in emptying ourselves; voluntarily giving His life for us all?
All of us have experienced betrayal in our life. What is amazing about Jesus' betrayal by Judas is that, He knew He was going to be betrayed even before it happened. Yet He did not retaliate, or take refuge and seek safety. Instead, He handed Himself to His enemies. Jesus came to a clear consciousness of God’s plan for Him. He was able to surrender His life into the hands of God, and do the Father’s will. His ultimate strength lay in that He knew that God would be with Him. How can we seek refuge in the Lord in our lives?
To be the oil of gladness, is to give people hope; praise in place of despondency.
This is the task of not just the ministerial priesthood but the laity - royal priesthood - as well. How can we be the oil of gladness to a world that is suffering and losing hope?
One of the dangers our world faces today occurs when truth is decided by the consensus of a few who articulate loudly, making it seem like the voice of the majority. This was the case in the trial of Jesus. It was a townhall trial. A trial by the mob. The question is, where do we stand at the end of the day? Will we allow the mob and the manipulators to decide the course of human society, or will we, like the Lord, remain resolute in our faith and in the gospel?
This year we celebrate the 150th anniversary of the proclamation of St Joseph as the patron of the universal Church. The Church sees him as the model of fatherhood. What is the secret of the spiritual fatherhood of Joseph? It is rooted in his faith in God. He was a man of deep prayer and contemplation. He was faithful to God and trusted in God’s plan completely. How can we imitate Joseph's example in our lives?
Christians proclaim the uniqueness of Christ as Savior of the world. But in a world of relativism and multi-religious climate, such a claim would be challenged in many ways. As St Peter told the Christians, “in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.” (1 Pt 3:15f) How then, by our lives can we demonstrate our living faith in Christ?
God’s love for us is unconditional and faithful regardless of our response. He never abandons us. The truth is that we have abandoned Him; He permits us to, out of love and respect for our freedom. How ought we to respond to God's loving and life-giving ways today?
For many of us, our faith in Christ is laidback. To find strength to commit ourselves further to the Lord, and for those catechumens still unsure of the love of Christ, we are called to contemplate on His passion, death and resurrection. It is from this paschal mystery, that we find strength, forgiveness and healing from our sins and wounds of life.
One of the most dangerous sins that can destroy our spiritual life is that of presumption. The sin of presumption can manifest in two extreme ways: (1) presuming God’s unconditional forgiveness for our sins, and (2) presuming that we are not in need of mercy and forgiveness. Both of these extremist positions will lead us away from God, either to the sins of the world or to the sin of pride. How can we avoid the sin of presumption today?